Oct 30, 2020
How full is your plate so far this week? Overflowing?
How often do you collapse in bed at the end of the day and wonder where the time went?
Why is it that we seem to be so busy all the time?
It's almost as if busyness is the new normal and that's not normal. We complain about how busy we are and how overwhelmed and stressed we feel, however, we don't seem to do quite enough to get off the busyness bus!
It's even harder to do so when we live in a society that values achievement, being productive, and being successful. Perhaps that's sending you a message that if you’re not as busy as the Jones, you're going to fall behind.
Well, I'm here to tell you that you won't!
“It’s not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?” ~Henry David Thoreau
There are several reasons why we feel the need to be busy all the time or simply are.
It could very well be that you may have grown up with parents that were always on the go, stressed and busy all the time. This may have sent a message to you that this is how life works, that this is how you get ahead and become successful.
It became a belief for you and as you grew up, you fell into the same patterns and habits of being busy.
If your daily or weekly, "To-Do List" is busting at the seams, if you are the go-to person at work putting in the extra hours, it could be because you feel that the more you do, the more valuable you are.
In other words, you may feel as though the more activities you check off your list, the more you are worthy of love, praise, attention, and accolades.
When you view self-worth as conditional, you end up doing X, Y, and Z in order to feel worthy.
Being busy can become an excuse to avoid something you have to start or something you must do. For example, you know you need to start exercising because you want to lose weight. However, you use being busy as an excuse as to why you can't start. The truth behind that may be that you have tried to lose weight and exercise before, and you haven't been successful. So, although you know you need to start, you're avoiding it because of your past track record.
Another example might be a long-overdue and important conversation you need to have with someone. The uncertainty of what will be said, how they will react, and what the outcome will be, might cause you to keep delaying it by using being too busy to make time to meet with the person.
Get some clarity on which of the three reasons you most identify with in terms of why you're so busy. Then, think about all of the things that you do on a daily and weekly basis. Ask yourself the following questions:
Apply The 3 D's to Your Life!
This goes beyond physically decluttering things around the house and your office. Take a moment to declutter your email inbox, items from your phone and take inventory of the tasks that you do that you don't really need to do.
You may think that everything you do is crucial, but if you pay attention, you'll see that many aren't.
This is about allowing and empowering others to contribute to the tasks that need to get done.
Are there things you do that can be delegated to someone else? Things such as the laundry, paying the bills (these can be set up automatically), groceries, cooking, cleaning the house?
Stop to get clear about why you don't delegate tasks to others.
How many times do you say, "Yes" to someone or something when you really would rather say, "No"?
Focus on your own thoughts and feelings before you commit to anything. Determine how you want to feel, what it is you need, and what boundaries you need to set in order to accomplish that.
When you're so busy, you spend all your time running around without any conscious thought to what you're doing.
So, take a moment each day to check in with yourself and see how you are feeling? And, if you don't feel good, ask yourself what you can do to change that. Being aware of everything you do and take on will help you adjust and change the cycle of busyness you're stuck in.
Start your “Busyness Detox” with my FREE Life Redesign S.O.B. (Stress, Overwhelm and Burnout) Guide 7 Tools to Help You Clam Down, Slow Down and Start Living.
