Will you take the time to read this?
Most of us probably feel too busy to pause for such an activity. We feel rushed, hurried and behind. Have you ever stopped to consider where these feelings come from?
I assert that most of it is just a bad habit that we have let take root in our lives. The stress and anxiety that results from habitual busyness wears on our health, relationships and enjoyment of life. It robs us of much that is truly good and creates joy.
Overcoming busyness is a worthy goal we should all pursue!
How do you start simplifying and overcoming busyness?
It is not enough to be busy; so are the ants. The question is: what are we busy about?
~ Henry David Thoreau
Overcoming busyness requires a little discipline. You have to bust a cycle of behavior that has become a habit. This can be difficult, but these strategies will help.
1. Start small and learn to calm yourself
I challenge you to take 5 minutes to be still and quiet. This will likely be harder than you think. Find a place where you can be alone with no distractions. Be sure the television and radio are off. Sit in a chair or on the bed, close your eyes, still your mind and just sit there for five full minutes. Increase the time each day until you can spend a full 30 minutes in this calm state. This is detox for your busyness!
2. Stop multitasking!
Do one thing at a time. Focus all your attention on that one task. Drink in the full experience of it. You can do this even with the mundane chores you have to do. For example, when you are washing dishes make yourself fully present in that moment. Examine your five senses and mentally note how the warm water feels on your skin, the scent of the dishwashing soap, the look of the dishes when wet, how the water sounds as it fills the sink and the taste of the soapy water.
3. Cut out the non-essential stuff
Okay, once you’ve practiced the first two strategies for awhile, your awareness is going to be much higher. This is when you can start cutting a lot of crap out of your life. Our days are full of things that don’t really matter. Doubt me? Stop doing all but what you think is absolutely essential. Does anyone notice? Probably only 20% of what we do is really necessary. This jives with the 80-20 rule which you should become familiar with. This strategy will help you cut a lot of the busyness from your life.
4. Learn the secret ancient word that was almost lost forever
There is an ancient word that has almost mystical power to help you overcome your busyness. It has practically become archaic because it is used so infrequently. It isn’t politically correct to use it with your kids, your boss or your spouse. Many have paid a high price for using it, but I think now is the time to once again bring it out into the light! What is the ancient word?!? It is, “No!” Use it often and use it mercilessly to simplify your life!
5. Extend what you’ve learned to the rest of your life
The strategies so far have focused mostly on the habit of hyperactivity (excessive restlessness, not the medical disorder), but now that you’ve made it this far you can learn to use what you’ve learned in other areas as well. This will help you to further simplify. For instance, decluttering your life will eliminate possessions that lead to unnecessary busyness. See how far you can take it. You might be amazed!
Overcoming busyness will set you free to live a full life!
The man who has nothing to do is always the busiest.
~ French Proverb
Unnecessary busyness is draining and unproductive. It will steal your health mentally and physically. In addition, you might wake up one day and realize your life is spent and for what? Don’t let that happen! Use the strategies above to focus your life on what is significant!
How do you conquer busyness in your life?
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Jeff, I couldn’t agree with this more. Especially the part about cutting out the non-essential. I used to answer every email, read 100 blogs, do 100 things, at once, stress out all day from being overwhelmed, etc. I finally learned to simplify and the most important step was simply to stop doing most of the things I had previously being fretting over. Guess what? The world did not come to an end.
Read Stephen – Rat Race Trap´s latest article – Movement With Attention
Ah, I’ve been SUPER busy lately and this is a wonderful post for me to read. Thanks for the great tips here. I agree with all of them! Now I just need to get work putting them into action…
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Multitaksing can hurt me sometimes. I feel like I have to do everything at once and try to do too much and thin myself out. Sometimes stepping back can really help out.
Good article, it’s so easy to shuffle papers all day long and stay busy doing nothing. I think it comes down to really knowing what you want, what you need to do to get there, then just getting on with it.
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Good post and very inspirational.
I have been trying to simplify my life. I started with not multitasking. I’m still working on that but I am a lot better then I used to be at enjoying the moment and the single task at hand.
I like the resting or meditation part. I used to do that a lot and have gotten away from it so this was like finding and old friend lost but not totally forgotten.
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This is a great reminder to keep things simple. A lot of what has most of our attention wasn’t even around just 10 years ago. You are right, I have learned that you can never really multitask and that saying NO is good for you.
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Excellent post! You are absolutely correct. Multitasking isn’t satisfying because we are not focused on what we are doing. When we engage ourselves with the task at hand, life is a much richer experience.
Enjoy this present moment. Feeling good involves having a dream, and being actively involved in the creation of your dream, not just having the outcome of the dream.
Read Dr. Annette Colby´s latest article – Journey of Change 4: Find Your Own Pace
I really needed to read this. I am wayyyyy too busy and I am really ready to change that.
Multi-tasking is such an exhausting state as one typically finds themselves working longer on multiple items than it would take to focus on one at a time and working through this list. I challenge you to look at your “to do list” with different eyes and focus on one thing at a time. Do it with all your energy as fully as you can then move onto the next item.
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