Being busy rarely equates to productivity these days. Just take a quick look around. Busy people outnumber productive people by a wide margin. Busy people are rushing all over the place, and running late half of the time. They’re heading to work, conferences, meetings, social engagements, etc. They barely have enough free time for family and they rarely get enough sleep. Their busy schedule gives them an elevated sense of importance. But it’s all an illusion. They’re like hamsters running on a wheel. Here are a few thoughts: 1. Prioritize your life; Stephen R. Covey once wrote; “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” What are the “main things” in your life? If I looked at your schedule this week would it reflect those priorities? If not, you may want to reevaluate your life. 2. Learn the difference between urgent and important; One thing successful people have in common is the ability to stay focused, even when a lot of “so called” emergencies are happening around them. Almost all of those “Urgent items” are things that are interruptions that we react to and not things we have chosen to act on. We lose our control over our schedule when we spend time reacting instead of acting. 3. Schedule time off; Do you remember when you were a kid how the thought of your “summer break” kept you sane through the spring when you were getting tired of school? What do you look forward to? Do you have a scheduled break in your calendar? While the “law of diminishing returns” is a term used in economics, it also applies to the amount of hours you are “busy” and how productive you actually are. In the Bible the word “Rest” is used over 400 times. They don’t have to be long vacations, they can start as small as a day at the park with your family, but book it and let your family know… they will thank you for it. 4. Finally, Wherever you are, be there! Though being busy can make us feel more alive than anything else for a moment, the sensation is not sustainable long term. We will inevitably, whether tomorrow or on our deathbed, come to wish that we spent less time in the buzz of busyness and more time actually living a purposeful life.
Posted on: Mon, 07 Apr 2014 19:42:10 +0000
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