Interesting article on Inc.com on the subject of busyness. Apparently you’re not as busy as you think you are.
Why do we think we are so busy? According to the author of Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, it’s because we’ve talked ourselves into believing it.
We wear our busyness with pride, telling ourselves and everyone else how much we have to do and that there’s no time for anything else. We come to believe it and becomes a way of life.
This unrelenting feeling of overwhelming busyness is not good for our health or productivity. We become anxious. We sleep poorly. We rush to complete things because we’ve got so much more to do. Relax? Vacation? Maybe later. There’s too much I’ve got to do first.
Stop telling yourself that you’re too busy. You have more than enough time to do what you’ve got to do.
The other thing we can do to stop feeling so busy is to “reduce the fragmentation in your life by scheduling uninterrupted free time”.
Because we are so connected to our work and other obligations–our smart phones and tablets are always on and always with us–it’s difficult to let go. We’re always reminded of what we’ve got to do and this jeopardizes our ability to relax.
Schedule quiet time. Time to relax and do nothing. Time away from your calendar and lists, texts and emails. Time to go for a walk and listen to music, not podcasts, or time to read fiction instead of work-related material.
I’ll admit, I’m not very good at this. I’m always working on and thinking about my current project, and my next one.
On Thanksgiving, I’ll make the effort. No work. Just family, fun, and relaxation.
As for the rest of the year, I’ll have to check my calendar and get back to you.
