How to Stop Being Too Busy
“Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.”
- Lin Yutang
I hear the phrase “I’m too busy” way too often. Some people proudly wear this phrase as if it were a badge. What if I told you that your “busyness” is bullshit? I do not doubt that you have run out of time, but it wasn’t because your schedule was overloaded; what if I told you that your work overload is not an insurmountable wall but a reflection of our priorities?
We are not inherently “too busy.” Instead, we prioritize certain activities over others based on their perceived value or urgency. We all have the same 24 hours, the same 1440 minutes, and the exact same 86,400 seconds in our day; what changes is our perspective on priorities.
The Power of Choice
Every moment presents us with choices that shape our lives. Choosing how to spend our time is one of the most powerful decisions we make daily. I have a good friend who has talked about writing a book that will be a compilation of all the things he did in his life to be considered one of the best in the world. He said that writing this book was a dream of a lifetime.
One evening, we sat together as he spoke glowingly about writing his book. I leaned forward in my chair and offered some advice. Since I had gone through a similar process as I wrote my best-selling book Move or Die, I suggested that he set aside 30 minutes at the beginning of his day—before anyone was awake in his house or in his world—to focus on making chapter outlines for each chapter of his book.
I explained to him how when I finished my book Skeleton (the outline), all that was left to do was attach the organs, muscles, and flesh to each part. He thought that was a great idea. He would start the following day. It made the task of writing much more manageable and organized.
A few weeks later, I asked how the outlining was going; he said, “What outlining?” I reminded him of what we had discussed a few evenings prior, and he nodded until the light went on. Then, the excuses began to pour out.
He had made a choice. Sleeping in was a priority, cleaning his garage was a priority, non-work-related traveling was a priority, and sending out funny reels from social media was a priority.
He had more than enough time, but he chose to put his “life’s dream” on the back burner.
Reassessing Your Priorities
Maybe you’re like my friend; you are overwhelmed by “busyness”. What can you do? Here are the steps I use to ensure that I am moving forward with the things that matter to me.
· Identify Your Values: What matters most to you? Is it family time? Personal growth? Health? Accomplishing those things that you feel are missing in your life? Understanding your core values helps clarify where your time should be spent. If your “life’s dreams” aren’t a priority, don’t put them on your list of GET TO things.
· Audit Your Time: Track how you spend your days for one week. This will reveal patterns where you might be wasting time and energy on low-priority tasks while neglecting what truly is your “life’s dreams.”
· Set Boundaries: Learn to say no without guilt. Protect your time like it is a precious resource; prioritize commitments that align with your values and goals.
· Create Routines: Establishing daily routines centered around your priorities can help streamline decision-making processes and create space for what you love and want to do during your life.
Get It Done … NOW!
Changing how we perceive busyness may cause some discomfort as we challenge our previous history of putting things off until we HAVE TO do whatever it is that makes us “busy”. A powerful way to get through this transition is just doing the task when it comes across your desk.
Stop looking at the due date and pushing the completion of the project until the day it is supposed to be completed. People constantly push things forward without regard to what will happen on that day in the future.
This change is difficult because most of us have put off projects since we started school. We live a lie that “I work well under pressure”. We must understand that “getting it done” and “getting it done better than anyone else could have done it” are two different things. One is about just getting by, and the other is about setting the foundation to become the best at whatever you plan to do in your life.
Redefining Your Narrative
Becoming “unbusy” is all about stopping with all the excuses why you can’t do it now. It’s nobody’s fault but yours that instead of getting the item picked up earlier, you waste time getting a coffee at some overpriced drive-up coffee shop. You don’t NEED the coffee, and by not picking up the item when you had time, now your schedule has become “busy”.
We must remember that being busy does not equate to being productive or fulfilled. By reframing our understanding around priorities rather than mere schedules, we empower ourselves to reclaim control over our time and energy, getting things done immediately rather than pushing things to a later date.
You hold the pen to write your narrative; choose wisely which chapters deserve focus! Embrace each moment as an opportunity—not merely as another task on an endless list—but as part of building a life with less stress, fewer moments of hurriedness, and more time uniquely yours! So, the next time someone asks, “Are you busy?” understand that you have the power to control the next words. Will you spit out excuses for not having time, or will you say, “No, I have all the time you need.”
Have an amazing day!
