We do so many irrelevant things in our day to
day, that’s overwhelming. Irrelevant to achieving
our goals and to our happiness, that is. Actually
these two should be the deciding factors
whenever we come up with any “to-do list” we
write.
Yesterday I was talking to my friend Tom about
“Why people need to feel busy?” and it was a
real concern we talked about at for more than
an hour. It seems that to be somebody in the
world today we have to feel like a macho alfas,
or else. Yes, unfortunately that seems to apply
to a growing number of women too. I was driving
home after our conversation and I came up with
these 5 tips that hopefully help you avoid the
syndrome that’s killing our society.
1. Being busy isn’t the
same as being
productive.
Or doing something useful/worthwhile, for that
matter. Sometimes I find myself seating at the
computer wandering around news sites, checking
email randomly, looking at my Facebook page to
see “what’s going on”. But don’t confuse that
with being productive or getting you closer to
your goals. Whenever you catch yourself doing
that, ask yourself the question: Why do I need
to be busy? Or even worst, Why do I need to
show others that I’m busy? Sometimes it’s a
self-impossed pressure, but sometime we let the
outside get to us. Identify the issue, and deal
with it.
2. Ask yourself: Is this
that important?
Important and urgent are sometimes mixed up
together, when in reality they’re not. In our
ability to tell them apart lies the key to great
success and achievement, or not.
Burn out shouldn’t be a badge of honor, but of
stupidity. If it’s 8pm and you’re still pounding
everyday, maybe something’s wrong with you
and you should get help. It’s not unheard of
people drawning themselves into work, work, work
because they can’t face deeper personality or
emotional issues. Maybe it’s time for an
emotional checkup? There’s always going to be a
reason to do “just one more thing” out of your
to do list. Believe me, I’ve been there myself.
And sometimes I still catch myself in that
situation.
3. Why can’t it wait?
Why is that so urgent that if I don’t do it now,
it’ll never get done? What’s the real urgency?
Most of the times it’s just us making up the
urgency. If it’s not a real life and death
situation, it probably can wait. I came up with a
motto for myself, in case it’s useful for you in
these situations: “If it never had the ability to
breathe, it’s not important.”
4. Did I have a minute
to relax today?
Taking a break several times during the day will
help you be much more productive. Your mind
needs to decompress in order to be able to go
back to overdrive. Sharpen your axe. It’s the
time best invested. Relax your mind, unplug
yourself from the world for 1 minute. Probably
you started your day running around like a
headless chicken. Take 1 minute, close your eyes,
focus on your breathing…When you open your
eyes again, the world should be moving slower.
5. Busyness doesn’t
mean business.
Thinking is more difficult than doing. But if you
put the effort on the thinking part, the doing
part is not going to keep you running around all
day. Most of the most successful people I know,
aren’t the busiest ones. And I think that’s
where it resides their secret. Having free time
allows them to be more creative, thinking more
strategically, and take outside views on what
they’re doing help them improve how things are
done.
Over to you...
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