I'm Too Busy

I know people who have been "too busy" for a decade! That is the automatic response to any request. Can you read this? Do you want to grab a drink? Do you have time to look over this? Their schedule never seems to let up. I guess they are so important or smart that they are in 24/7/365 demand for their greatness. I guess we mere humans must accommodate their schedule. Actually, I know they are full of it because no one is that busy. They have made the decision that whatever they are getting out of their work is more important than what we need them to do. Priorities have been voiced.

Some wear busy-ness as a badge of honor, thinking that being busy means they are important, needed, or smart. It is the opposite. And it is draining to hear it as an automatic response. These days, I want to say "get over your bad self" or "get a grip on your time management", but I try to view these busy people with compassion and realize that they are feeding their ego or acting out of fear. It has nothing to do with me, but is instead a void on their end that they need to address.

Do you find yourself saying that you are too busy too often? Think about it. People are busy in clusters. Maybe for a day, week or even a month, but all day, every day? Nope. Cannot be sustained.

There is a saying "busy-ness is not business". This is so true. How much time do we all waste doing inane tasks, scrolling through messages and posts, listening to people who have nothing to say, waste-of-time meetings, etc.?

There are many hours in each day to take back if we first identify them. Note that I am not advocating for not having downtime in your day. This is needed to recharge and reset and clear your mind. But looking at how you actually spend time is enlightening. Also, learning to take back your time is powerful.

If you find that you are one of these constantly busy people, there are steps you can do to recover:

• Look at how you are spending your time. What can you offload or just not do?
• Look at why you are saying you are busy. Do you really want to say "No. I am not interested."?
• Look at how you feel when you think you are being busy. Is it adrenaline from fear or is it pride in a job well done?
• Look at you organization. Do you have the people, processes and infrastructure in place to eliminate wasted time and effort?
• Look inside yourself. What are you getting out of thinking that you are too busy?

This is not easy to do. We all program ourselves and a mindset of "I am busy" is a hard habit to break. But once you start to dig to the root of why you think you are always too busy, you will uncover magical truths about yourself that will free you up emotionally and physically to start living the life you imagined. What a gift to yourself! The reason you started your business in the first place....

Clearly, there are openings in your schedule, time you can take back for yourself, or gaps that you can create. This is where calendars come in handy -- a visual representation of how you spend time. In consulting, I had to keep daily timesheets, to the 15 minute interval, to bill clients. So I knew where my time was spent. In coaching, I have blocks of time for client interactions, business development, continual learning, and for myself. It is a decision that each of us can make: how do you want to spend your time and where can you capture back time that you are wasting to add to your quality of life? You will never get today back again.

If you are too busy to reach out to me, know that I am here to help when you come up for air. It's pretty easy to schedule a call by email at [email protected] or through the calendar link on my website. https://calendly.com/libby-coaching