I’m Too Busy…to Learn How to be Less Busy!
If you find yourself saying that, read on.
Most of my clients come to me wearing the “Busy Badge of Honor.” When asked how they are, most are programmed with the automated response, “I’m so busy.”
Being busy is one of the biggest limiting factors for growth and for being in control of your day. Eventually, we don’t know any other way of life.
I’m Sooo Busy…Can You Relate?
Maybe you can relate to some of the stories I’ve heard:
- You might say you’re in a panic because everyone needs so much from you all the time. Their needs are so urgent that your heart races.
- You’ll run from back-to-back meetings all day and don’t stop for lunch or bathroom breaks.
- You’re being called into last-minute meetings or having surprise drop–in meetings, either in person or by phone, that last more than an hour. You can’t say ‘no.’
- There’s not enough time to create an organized calendar and mix up meeting days or times, losing more time because of errors, mistakes, or confusion.
- You have a hard time delegating to someone because it’s quicker to do it yourself than to teach someone, the client really needs it to come from you, or you aren’t sure you can trust someone else to do it right – the way you would do it.
- Some don’t like the rigidity and structure of managing their time specifically. They like the freedom and flexibility to allow for whatever comes up. They have no organization and run themselves ragged all day.
- Others say they get caught up in so many small things they NEED to do that they can’t find the time to do the things that they WANT to do.
- For some, being busy is somehow attached to feeling important or valuable. If you are not busy, then you must not be necessary, right?
- Some people feel that if their teams are busy, then it is important to be a busy role model. Leaders think that being down in the busy trenches is the best place for them to be with their teams.
- Then there are folks who believe that if they aren’t at the office at the crack of dawn and don’t stay until after the sun goes down, that they must not be a team player. They believe the number of work hours equates to their work ethic, and they may be perceived as lazy, dis-engaged or not actively involved.
Hey you…Did you find yourself in there somewhere?
We’re Too Busy…. For What?
Just what are we doing with our time? Current statistics indicate:
- Screen time reports on phones and tablets are up
- Online shopping numbers have skyrocketed
- Social media is the best source for advertising for most industries
- Consumption of alcohol and food has increased to the highest levels recently
- Since the pandemic began, Vegas gambling sites are the busiest they have ever been in terms of revenues and dollars spent and generated.
If we’re so busy, why do we have the time to spend on so many trivial things?
Because these things, and others, are an escape for us from our busy-ness.
As the world has changed over the past year, we have created new habits and routines for ourselves. Our work, home, and parenting lives, social lives, as well as travel lives are completely different.
Are we more – or less busy?
Who knows? Each of us has 24 hours each day.
It begs the question:
How can some people manage to get so much done in a day and others struggle?
It’s All About Priorities When You’re Busy
Time is our most valuable possession. We have the freedom and flexibility to choose whatever we want to use it for.
We can have all the power, control, and freedom we can possibly get from it. This means we have all the responsibility to manage it – and the responsibility that comes with it.
We find it easy to blame the lack of time on something that is outside of us so that we don’t need to take responsibility for it. But guess what?
When we don’t take responsibility for how we use our time, we give up the power and the control over it. Once we do that, time has begun to manage us.
Our jobs, bosses, employees, family, and the rest of the world gain control over our time – because we give it to them.
We either control our time – or our time controls us. We must choose. It is one or the other. There is not an in between.
Which one is in control for you? You or the time? There is nothing outside of us that controls our time. We always get to choose to do it.
“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” – Michael Altshuler
Make Every Minute a Worthy, Conscious Decision
Once we choose to make time the most valuable thing we have, it changes everything.
We treasure it. When we do that, we think about what we do with every single second.
That means that whatever you do, you are making a conscious and deliberate choice. It’s what you decided you want to value, what you decided to prioritize.
Creating structure into our life is what ultimately allows us the freedom that we desire most. Assigning the precise amount of time to things that we want to accomplish every day, week, month, and year is exactly what allows us to have so much more in our lives, to enjoy it at new levels and value the creation of everything that we are capable of doing.
We can’t get any more hours in a day, but we have the power, the control, and responsibility to use it wisely and deliberately for ourselves- each and every day- to accomplish what we want, need and value most in our worlds.
Take a Moment to Think Things Over
If you fell into any of the stories I shared above, question it.
- Decide for yourself whether you want to continue thinking or believing those things.
- Consider whether they are true or not.
- Determine whether they serve you and whether they are aligned with what you value most.
- Decide whether the results you have around you are the ones that you want to continue to have in your life. If you want more out of your life, this is such a great place to start.
Visit us at Strive Coaching Studio to get more info on this and other topics that matter most to you – so you can have more of what you want in your life.