Note: This article is by Jess Dickerson, who shares his experience with being constantly busy and how to solve it.
I usually write and talk about productivity, and I am often asked, “How do I get more done?” Customers and the public do not wonder how to get more done in less time, but how to invest every second of your day at work.
But filling your day with activities is not the best investment for your time, and at some point, you will lose focus and stop finishing your to-do list until you find yourself watching videos about cats and browsing communication sites non-stop. Then, in addition to the fact that you did not make significant progress, all that preoccupation has seriously damaged your mental health.
The American Psychiatric Association states that people are more anxious than last year, yet expect to complete tasks that take more than a month in a day and then consider their preoccupation and sleep deprivation a reason for pride.
It doesn't have to be this way; a culture of shouldering minimal burdens has existed for a good reason: not only do we have to get rid of physical burdens but also psychological ones and beliefs that one's preoccupation is evidence of one's importance and that one's worth is determined by one's daily achievement.
Three methods that will help you do this
1. Do not treat preoccupation as an achievement
One adapts to the group of people around them; if their surroundings are always busy, then they will probably be too. However, the problem lies not only in enduring much overload but also in bragging and celebrating how busy they are, such as comparing those who slept less and drank more cups of coffee.
We talk about these things as signs that we have gotten where we want to be, but if we continue to engage in this kind of bidding, we give the idea of the importance of being busy more control over our minds.
Free yourself from the rules of society and try something different; share how amazing it was to have extra free moments when you completed a task in record time; and if you have put your sleep and self-care a priority and become happier and more productive, share your secret with your friends and be proud that you consider your free time a priority and do not overwork yourself. You can boast of such events instead of boasting of being busy.
2. Do not be afraid to say “no”
The reason most people are so busy is that they hate to say “no,” and when they do, they feel guilty. It can be said to be partly because they are kind. But the other reason is that they do not set good boundaries.
Boundaries are a way to protect human values. Setting boundaries means that we express our dissatisfaction when a group is marginalized if we believe in equality, and that we express our dissatisfaction if we get distracted from a family matter if we believe in its importance.
Most people have not given importance to their values and how they protect and defend them. If you decide, for example, that two of your values are your family and personal safety, and you are offered an opportunity that will keep you away from your family and make you restless, it will be easy to reject it because it does not agree with your principles.
When you agree to an opportunity, you are rejecting something else that may be more important to you. If you consent to every opportunity, you may end up abandoning one or more of your principles. So, before you agree, think about whether it meets your standards or not. If not, you can conveniently refuse, and then you can approve of something much more important.
3. Identify the important things and check out the rest
Everyone has the same 24 hours in their day, but they don't have the same responsibilities and goals. That's why no one can tell you what activities to eliminate to make your day less busy. Take some time to list the things that are most important to you.
Identify your core values and check if you are fully appreciating them right now. If one of your values is your health, but you are so busy that you skip physical exercise and eat fast food every night, what can you do to fix this? Think about what you're doing that doesn't align with your values, and you can eliminate it.
For some people, this can be difficult; all your activities may align, but they are beyond your abilities. If you really cannot get rid of any of them, find places where you can ask for help; most likely, you will find many people near you as soon as they know that you need help.
In conclusion
A culture of busyness is just a culture, and cultures can change. Imagine a society that is not so overloaded with activities that people have time to take care of themselves and are not always busy completing their tasks. They do more in less time.
All this is possible when giving up the idea that being busy is an achievement in itself. So, remember that it is not about work; it is about the tasks that it accomplishes, and it is not about being busy with life; it is about enjoying its journey.
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