Christopher Whitnall
It seems that nearly every time I meet someone these days and ask them how they are, I receive the same response….”I’m so busy!”
It has become a default reaction. A response that comes out before the person has actually thought about how they really are.
Sometimes it gets even worse as they start to explain all the things that are making them so busy! If you engage with them it can often become a busyness competition with each person upping the ante on how busy they are.
The reality is that everyone is busy. All of us have the same 168 hours per week and what we choose to put into that time is our decision.
Mindset plays a very big part in helping how you handle how much you have to get done. As mentioned, everyone is busy, but why are some people so much more efficient and productive than others? I believe it is how they prioritise what they need to get done and their mindset in how they approach the tasks.
One of my clients is the CEO of a large multi-national business and he looks after 11 countries and a few billion dollars of revenue, and he never seems rushed or stressed. He gets all the things done that he needs to get done. He prioritises what needs to be done and is diligent in focusing on the key and important tasks.
Sadly he is the exception as most people spend way too long complaining about all the things they cannot do because they are so busy.
This must cause great stress in their lives as they are continually chasing themselves, always busy at work so they are stressed when they get home. Then too busy at home doing all the things they need to do so they are unable to relax.
How do we change this?
- Mindset. Stop talking about how busy you are. Think productivity not activity.
- Prioritise. Make a list of the things you need to get done and prioritise them. Be realistic, you compound the problem if you prioritise everything as urgent!
- Manage Expectations. If you know you won’t be able to get to something until next week….let people know.
- Choice. You have the choice over what needs to be done when.
- Language. Change your language. Stop using the phrase “I’m so busy”. Use something different that makes you think about how you really are and is not an automatic response. “I get most things done….” or “I fill my days….”
Finally, if you are spending lots of time telling people how busy you are, you could probably use that time to actually get things done.