Busy, Busy, Busy. It seems that word is the answer to most questions these days. How was work today? Are you interested in learning about a new product, service, program? Have time for a beer? Most people will have the word “busy” somewhere in their reply. A couple thoughts on this said exchange.
If you are always busy, that is your norm. Busy implies an uptick in some time-consuming task.
Busy does not equal productivity or progress. Hamsters can stay busy all day running in a circle but end up right where they started.
Are you happy with all this busy-ness?
I live by the motto, We Have All The Time We Need To Do The Things We Want. Think of a time a sudden change occurred in your schedule – dinner invite to an amazing restaurant, championship parade, car breaking down, a spouse getting sick. If the event is important enough, suddenly there is time to dedicate to it. The tricky part is - what does one focus on, what items merit your time vs ones that don’t. A process I’ve developed over the years, that helps me focus, is below. Maybe this helps you identify and align your priorities or allow for more time doing what makes you happy. Give it a shot and see where it leads you.
Step 1: Spend time reviewing last week. What did you spend time on that was not essential, did not deliver much joy? Eliminate those activities from your schedule.
Examples:
Thoughts and time spent complaining or comparing yourself to others.
Massive amounts of screen time, social media, endless scrolling.
Think of this as an opportunity to clean your life up some. If a nap brings real joy and comfort – keep it in your schedule. If after watching three hours of TV a night just makes you tired and depressed, why keep doing it?
Removing these items from your day provides open time to explore something new.
Step 2: Fix the causes of issues, not the problems the issue creates.
Examples:
Continuously cleaning up a leaking sink vs fixing the leak.
Step 3: Identify the important task at this moment that will have the greatest positive impact on your life/work…. then focus on that! Put 90% of your energy into that one item.
Examples:
If your business growth depends on hiring a new Director of Sales, direct your energy into filling that position.
If the relationship with your spouse has slipped some, and that unbalance is seeping into all your thoughts, make this priority one!
With a clear item of focus, all the other tasks (or busy-ness) will feel insignificant, resolve themselves or just disappear as their outcome has little impact on your happiness.
For me, it is a wonderful simple process. Trim the excess non-productive actives from the day. Spend extra time fixing the causes of issues as ultimately that equates to more time back in your day. Then most importantly, identify and focus on the one activity that will have the largest positive impact on your life.
At the end of the day, you will spend more time on what is important to you. You will have all the time you need to do the things you want. Enjoy the journey.