How did humanity get so BUSY?
Seriously, do you know anyone who’s not busy? Well, I’m sure you do, but I’m also sure you probably don’t respect that person much. Because in this day and age, we’ve hypnotized ourselves into thinking that success and busyness go hand in hand. The busy person is rocking and rolling. The busy person is out there in the world, in demand, getting stuff done.
But hold on just a second now…
I’m as busy as the next person. And I don’t know about you, but the busier I get, the less awesome I feel. I end up spending mountains of time chipping away at my busy schedule, for the sake of getting it nice and ventilated again. Then guess what? Once my schedule has a little room on it (which tends to be a rare occurrence), I get all urgent about filling it up again.
Because I want to stay relevant. In the game. Productive.
Busy!
However, my friends, this is a vicious cycle. In truth, being busy goes hand in hand with being distracted. And if we’re cluttered and overwhelmed with tasks, chances are we’re not attending to each task at an optimum level.
So I’d humbly like to suggest to you that you make a point of giving each task its needed space. This means showering each and every task with an appropriate amount of love and care. It means, in other words, not rushing, cutting corners, or slamming things through.
Sounds impossible, right? I mean, after all, We’re So Busy!!
But give it a try, for just a week or so. Set your days up around a handful of critical tasks, ones which absolutely need to be done on that day, as opposed to cramming your day with as much stuff as you can possibly get done.
Then be sure to give each task on the schedule lots of space to breathe. Turn it over in your mind and heart. Run your moves by people you trust. Don’t rush to get it off your desk; be patient enough to get it right.
When you operate this way, you’ll start to find that you’re even MORE productive than you were before. It’s because your confidence level has soared, as you’re coming to self-identify as a person of greater value. In the meantime, those around you will start to see the very same person: not someone who’s harried and slammed, but a person who can be trusted to do what needs to be done, how it needs to be done.
And I aspire, always, to show up in life as such a person.