Constantly busy? It’s nothing to brag about. Grace Clapham of The Change School gives us some real talk: it’s time to stop buying into the ‘busyness’ mentality and claim back your sanity and sense of self.
Is the word ‘busy’ one of the most used words in your vocabulary? Is your dairy triple booked? Feel like you never have time for family, friends, or yourself and don’t see how you could possibly slow down? (Self-care and personal rituals – ha! What’s that?) In fact, I bet you are really busy right now and maybe too frazzled to read this article properly?
We live in this world where we glorify being busy and believe that being busy means you’re actually productive. But you know what… it doesn’t.
Here are a few reasons one becomes addicted to being busy:
1. To avoid feelings
2. To avoid dealing with another situation on hand – something deeper
3. Societal pressure
4. Being busy equates to being successful or hard-working
5. Fear
I was where you are right now and I decided a year ago that busy was no longer the word I wanted to let occupy so much of my life. I want to share with you some lessons I learned on how to overcome busyness. In the end, I actually get more done in a shorter amount of time. So here goes…
1. Slow the F down.
If we slow down we can actually accomplish more. You’ve got to slow down to speed up.
2. Be ‘intentional’
Intentionally design your week and days. Know when you are the most productive and work your key tasks around that.
3. Recharge
Take time out to recharge and refuel yourself. We are always so worried that if we take time out we will be further behind. In actual fact, if you can take time out and recharge you will come back more energised and more productive and more creative! Yep, it’s all about that personal ritual.
4. Know you have a choice
Being busy is a choice. You are the controller of your schedule and you can make the choice to be busy or not.
5. Check your priorities.
If you don’t know your priorities you are more likely to fall in the trap of being busy. Schedule your days and weeks around the most important priorities.
6. Learn to say no.
This was by far my biggest lesson. Learn to say no to the less important things or commitments in life so you can do the other things that are of importance to you.
I’m not saying there won’t be times where you will be busy – of course, there will be – but it shouldn’t be every day. Stop being addicted to ‘busyness’, stop living on autopilot and let us unbusy our lives for 2018.
