Have you noticed how busy everyone is?
We love busy because our culture believes it’s the best form of productivity. As a result, we’re usually applauded for it. The busier we are, the better.
But what are we busy about?
Read Be so busy improving yourself
I think that for many of us, our busyness has become a form of laziness that has stopped us from focusing on the things we value most. Things like health and family and friends and passions.
Do we really need to be so busy?
How many of us do the things we do, because it’s what everyone else is doing?
Could you do with some down time?
Read Busy is a drug
If so, here are five ideas to help reduce the hectic pace of your schedule.
- Work less Do you really need to work as much as you do, or do you need to stop spending so much money on things you don’t really need? When we eliminate some of the ‘convenient items’ (latest iPhones, computers, cars) to make way for the essentials, we have a lot of money left over and don’t need to work so much.
- Be clear What are you busy about? When we’re unclear about what we’re trying to accomplish, we get blown by the wind of the urgent tasks and feel as though we’re constantly catching up. There’s power in clarity.
- Say no It’s with the best intentions we agree to take on more than we can handle. When we have clarity on what is most essential in our lives, saying no to the excess becomes a lot easier.
- One thing at a time Multitasking is not an efficient way to get more done. In fact, it’s the perfect way to do more with less efficiency. Ask yourself what the three most important tasks are for the day, and work on one of them at a time.
- Be ok with unfinished Our work will never be complete. The sooner we accept that there will always be more to do, the sooner we’ll find it easier to be okay with the unfinished, and not feel compelled to constantly ‘catch up’.
By Tyson Popplestone
Printed with permission
