How often do you hear, feel or say ..
“I’m so busy” or “I don’t have time?”
Being always busy ‐ constantly occupied ‐ has become the norm. Sadly, many of us don’t even know what to do with ourselves when we have any down time! Be honest, in the spare moments do you reach for your phone & begin scrolling?
It’s almost as if we’ve evolved to believe we need constant stimulation .. where actually, the complete opposite is true.
Technology is great but it eats up hours of our life
Being busy can be fun & is necessary at times but, working flat out for extended periods is seriously damaging to our health, productivity & creativity.
So what can be done?
Simple .. SLOW DOWN.
Whenever you feel overwhelmed (or you’ve over committed yourself) do a quick audit of your time. It’s doesn’t take long but it instantly helps to prioritise what’s really important to you that day/week. Here’s how ….
- Cancel (or reschedule) appointments that aren’t immediately necessary.
- Reschedule (or drop) projects that you thought you could/should do
- Contact the people who can help progress the projects that are still on the audited list and ask them to forward the information you need to take a step forward in those projects.
Just doing these three simple things instantly makes you feel lighter, re focused & re energised.
By eliminating the non important things they no longer have a claim on your time or attention.
Having time back generates a huge sense of relief. When the pressure’s off ‐ when we give ourselves space between tasks ‐ we actually become more productive & creative. Just by slowing down, our brains have a chance to ‘work through’ issues that have been on the back burner whilst we’ve been busy with other tasks. Surprisingly, when our brains are given a chance to slow down, fresh insights, ideas & breakthroughs actually come to mind.
“Everything changed the day she figured out there was exactly enough time for the important things in her life”. Brian Andreas.
The other ‘trick’ I’ve found works really well for me when I feel overwhelmed is to have a positive morning routine:
- on waking I do yoga for 20 mins to open & stretch my body
- then I read something inspiring & uplifting .. it might be a short prose from Rumi, the Dalai Lama or even a passage from a favourite book. This helps me feel uplifted at the start of the day
- then I look at what is planned for the day & ask myself; “what do I need out of this activity?”, “how is it going to help me towards a bigger goal?” and, “how can I do this activity so well that I exceed someone’s expectations?”.
OK, so maybe the last action sounds a little ‘corny’ but it works for me as it prevents me from just going through the motions, going through my to do list on auto pilot … and besides, I get a little buzz when I get positive feedback so it’s a win win!
If this post has struck a cord with you we hope our suggested life audit helps you take a step towards feeling less overwhelmed. And, if you’ve time, we highly recommend reading Bored & Brilliant : How time spent doing nothing changes everything and, Thrive : Redefining Success & Creating a Happier Life.
