While walking through the park the other day, I came across this group of busy bees feverishly pollinating the flowers around them. It made me think of all the “busy work” we do each day, and how it can start to make us feel unfulfilled. Do you ever feel this way? If so, do you wonder how can you stop feeling too busy? Thinking through the following three areas has helped me focus on spending more time on the important things in life. Will it help you?
1 – Separate What You Find Important from What Others Find Important.
It may feel awkward and it may be hard to say no at first, but if you can determine what is truly important to you, it gets easier to focus your time.
For example, I had the Booster club lady “volunteer” me to work concessions at a Basketball game, as it is “important” to fund the team. While my son finds basketball important and he is committed, I truthfully do not find working concessions important at all ( but I’m glad others do ?). I declined the offer … So she just requested I donate a case of ketchup instead! DONE!
Staying true to what I felt was important saved me an entire Saturday afternoon, and I helped the team. You also can free up time by being mindful about who and what you commit to.
2 – Do not Enable “Time-Suck” Behaviors in Others
We’ve all seen it. That person who sucks away time because they can’t or won’t do things the right way. It is easy to fall into their trap and just do the work for them! My motto is if someone truly needs help, then help. But boundaries must be set if someone needs help only because they don’t want to do something themselves.
Here is my “At Work” recipe:
- Communicate all instructions clearly and in writing to the person in question.
- Have 1-2 in person sessions with them to clear up any confusion.
- Answer any question once and in writing.
- Allow them to do the work – resist doing it for them.
This is hard and tries my patience, but I’m in it to win it! It may seem like a time-suck now, but the alternative is to manage poor performance ongoing.
3 – Make Obligations to Yourself as Important as Obligations to Others
Isn’t it funny that we can get our kids to Basketball, call in for the 8:00 pm meeting and still get dinner on the table, but we can’t find time for ourselves? This was the hardest one for me to start, but I now “make” time for me. My son may have to wait 20 minutes to get picked up so I can finish my run, or my emails will collect as I take a walk at lunch. Once I did it, a funny thing occurred… people got used to it after a while! It became part of our routine, I don’t feel lost in the shuffle and I don’t feel guilty. See if you can set aside even 20 minutes a few days a week, it will work wonders!
So in my attempt to stop feeling too busy, I took a walk on my lunch hour which led me to take this photo of busy bees (because taking photos of flowers is something I find very important). If I hadn’t gone, I would never had seen them, or written this post, which is also something I find important. ? Funny how it all seems to work out if you think through these steps. Time passes quickly, try not to miss the meaningful moments.
Do you think these tips can work for you? What other suggestions do you have to stop feeling too busy? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
– Tracy ?