Say Goodbye to Being Busy all the Time!

Always on the go, go, go? Got 101 things on your to-do list but never enough time to get them done? We get it – life can get very busy, very quickly. Especially if you’re working on a super-tight deadline at work while trying to juggle some form of balance with your personal life!

This is what we call busyness – where you’re always busy but get this, you don’t really know what you’re busy about! It’s a thing, believe us. With pressure from friends who are performing really well and people around us who seem to always be accomplishing things, it’s hard to be that person who is sitting around doing, well, nothing. Hence you come up with a busy persona (hey, we all do) and take on that role pretty seriously by trying to pack your schedule with things, and more things, to do.

Afterall, being busy means you’re on your way to being successful, right?

Hate to break this to you but the answer is no. A lot of times, we end up not really knowing what we are busy doing – just that we are busy! Take a moment to reflect: What exactly is keeping you busy? Are you really busy… or are you aiming to be busy so you don’t look like you’re slacking off?

More likely than anything, it’s the latter. It’s what many of us are guilty of because we want to look and feel important. And what better way to do this but have a packed schedule and so many things that require your attention right now.

But is it really a good thing, this act of busyness? Newsflash: It’s not. Because “being busy” distracts you from the more meaningful things in life – like taking a break to enjoy it for starters! When was the last time you sat on the sofa and did nothing? If your busyness is preventing this simple act of relaxing after a long day, you’ve got a serious problem.

Another reason why busyness is a problem is that many of us use it as a form of escape. Don’t want to deal with the work issues bugging you? Look busy! Avoiding life problems? Would you look at that, you’re so busy you don’t have “time” to deal with it.

What to do to stop this busyness? Do a busyness detox!

You read that right – you can detox busy out of your system, and you will thank us for it. Essentially, a busyness detox is when you are committed to stop acting and thinking that you’re busy and instead spend all that extra free time now doing more significant things.

So how do you detox busy out of your life? Here are some tips:

Start Saying No To Non-Essentials
You don’t have to go for every work event (just so you can prove you’re committed to the company) and you don’t have to do every class in the gym. When you say no, you’re really saying yes to spending that time on something more meaningful to you. To figure out what to say no to, make a list of what matters most to you. Let the rest go. If you can’t decide, do a total cleanse. Cut out everything and slowly add back what is good for you.

Minimise Reminders
We love them… and we loathe them. Because these reminders just remind us of the many gazillion things we’ve not finished! But listen, do you need to set reminders for everything… or only the things that matter? Remove or minimise notifications so you don’t get easily distracted with the reminders. Delete apps you don’t use. Speak to your manager about having more time to work from home or bumping off some of your tasks to a colleague who’s freer than you are at that moment.

Don’t Say “What’s Next”
Done with something? Instead of looking at your list for what’s next, try this instead: Take a break! You don’t always have to be working or doing something. There are times when you can be doing nothing… and there’s absolutely nothing wrong with that.

Schedule in “Do Nothing” Time
Maybe it is the evenings or an hour before you start work. Spend those hours doing nothing or doing things that aren’t goal oriented but instead fun and meaningful. Like writing in a journal or reading a book. Doing these forces you out of the busyness rut and allows you to spend your precious time doing things you like instead.

Keep Checking In
Congratulations, you’ve detoxed busyness out of your life. But can you absolutely keep it away? If you don’t make busyness detox a priority, chances are you’ll find yourself back in the busyness mode again. Like all other detoxes, you have to repeat your busyness detox to reap the benefits once more. When it comes to busyness, keep reminding yourself if what you’re busy with is worth it. If not, ditch it!

Do you have a problem with always wanting to appear busy? Tell us how you handled it @Graduan!

Photo by Anna Dziubinska on Unsplash.