Leonard Cagno has announced a new personal pledge aimed at addressing chronic overload caused by poor systems, constant context-switching, and a lack of clear priorities. Grounded in lessons from aviation, finance, and entrepreneurship, the pledge focuses on simple, repeatable behaviors that restore clarity and calm in daily work. "Whether you're flying a plane or running a business, you need clarity before speed," Cagno says. "You can't panic at 20,000 feet. You rely on training, checklists, and process." He adds, "Productivity isn't about doing more. It's about doing the right things in the right order." And when pressure rises, his rule is clear: "You don't freeze. You adjust."
This announcement matters because 83% of workers report work-related stress, according to the American Institute of Stress. The World Health Organization recognizes burnout as an occupational phenomenon linked to chronic workplace stress. Studies show frequent task switching can cut productivity by up to 40%. Employees who report clear priorities are more than twice as likely to feel engaged at work. Cagno believes the fix starts small and personal. "Tools are only as good as the systems behind them," he says. "When you add even a little structure, everything works better."
The Leonard Cagno Personal Pledge consists of seven commitments: plan the day before it starts with a short priority list; use a 'must do, should do, nice to do' framework to prevent overload; single-task for at least 60 minutes daily with notifications off; run a weekly review to capture what worked and what didn't; protect one daily reset window; document decisions and processes to reduce repeat confusion; and end the workday on time at least three days per week to maintain balance.
A free do-it-yourself toolkit is available for anyone to take action immediately, requiring no services or purchases. Recommendations include writing tomorrow's top three tasks tonight, turning off non-essential notifications for one hour, creating a simple checklist for a recurring task, blocking one focus session on your calendar, standing up and moving for five minutes every two hours, keeping a single notes file for decisions and ideas, asking "What can I stop doing?" once per week, setting a clear start and stop time for work, reviewing your week every Friday for 15 minutes, and sharing one process improvement with your team.
A 30-day progress tracker provides a structured approach to building momentum: week one focuses on setting priorities daily and completing one weekly review; week two adds single-task focus blocks and documenting one process; week three emphasizes protecting reset time and reducing meetings or notifications; week four involves reviewing results, keeping what works, and dropping what doesn't. Cagno is a New York–based business leader and Partner at TEG Health & TEG Wellness. His career spans aviation, finance, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on building clear systems that help people work with intention and calm under pressure.
