Are you BUSY? Would you describe your life as hectic and crazy?
When was the last time you stopped and thought about the implications of those words?
I used to say I was “busy” all the time, but the concept of “being busy” is so overused and misguided that I now find it worse than nails on a chalkboard!
In fact, many people display the busy life as a badge of honor and wear the “burden” with pride. This is not only misguided, but often at the root of the frustration, challenges, and lack of progress that people face in life.
Design Your Life
I came across a quote recently that sums up the issue and the solution perfectly.
It’s by a dynamo of a woman named Steph Smith (@stephsmithio on Twitter). She asks the question
“How much of what you did today was simply due to inertia?”
and then follows it up with…
“Never get so busy that you forget to actively design your life.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
There are lots of ways to “design your life”. Call it goal setting, strategic planning, lifestyle design, etc., but success comes down to
- Having a vision of what you want your future to look like
- Identifying why that vision is compelling and important to you
- Putting a strategy in place to make your vision a reality
- Then taking consistently daily action towards your objectives
Yes, sometimes people working towards lofty goals have A LOT on their plate. However, just as often, they are less “busy” than the average person and able to enjoy a rich, full life while still pursuing their biggest dreams.
This is possible because they cut out the fluff in their life. They purposefully curate their environment. They aren’t busy doing “stuff”.
Big Rocks
Successful, happy, and fulfilled people are actively engaged in doing the most important things in their life, regardless of how packed their schedule is.
In reality, accomplishing the biggest goals is more about ELIMINATION of non-essential tasks than it is about adding new tasks.
Steve Jobs famously said that success is about saying NO to good opportunities so you have the time, energy, and focus to say YES to great opportunities.
What are the GREAT opportunities, projects, and priorities in your life?
Stephen Covey would call them the “big rocks”.
Identify them, clarify their importance, and focus relentlessly on the small daily actions that will keep you moving towards their attainment.
If you are doing that each day and still want to call yourself “busy”, I’m okay with it. 🙂
So, how does this play out in daily life for people who aren’t focused on their big rocks?
Typically it shows up as being scattered, unfocused, stressed out, and in a negative efficiency spiral.
People in this situation often say they don’t have time to:
- Get to bed on time
- Exercise regularly
- Stretch, relax, meditate
- Take a vacation (Yes, vacations and down-time are important even during COVID)
- Spend time with family and friends
- Strategically plan for each day/week/month/quarter/year
- Write down and review their goals
- Learn a new skill
At the base level, we all know that every person on the planet only has 24 hours in a day, 168 hours in a week, and 52 weeks in a year, yet it’s still tempting to say we don’t have time.
Priorities and Being Busy
Next time you hear the “busy” word coming out of your mouth, ask yourself… “busy doing WHAT?”. Then follow it up with…” What am I doing to ensure that the most important priorities in my life get the time they deserve?”
One of my goals in life is to help people experience that life is amazing and packed with potential. I started doing this through fitness but realized that I first had to help people get their mindset and habits dialed in. Without those areas, people continually struggled with fitness and nutrition.
So, if you’ve been struggling to “get fit” and “lose weight”, I recommend looking at your mindset and habits. There’s often a strong correlation between being “busy”, but failing to reach your goals.
If you would like help to conquer your “busyness” and gain traction to your personal health, fitness, and performance goals (or even just to set some), then please reach out at info@freshfitness.ca to get started!
I would love to learn more about what you want to accomplish, and the challenges you’ve faced making it happen.