On Banishing “Busy:” 5 Ways to Boost Productivity & Happiness

“I’m too busy to workout.”

“Our lives are just too crazy for one more thing.”

“Oh, you know.  Just busy, busy, busy.”

“There’s just too much to keep track of.”

“My after work/after school schedule is too full to make a healthy dinner.”

These are the things I hear all.the.time.

I too was caught up in the glorification of “busy” for a long time, and you know what I had to show for it?  A lot of sleep deprivation, a really big ego, and an under active thyroid.  Go, me!

It’s easy to do.  Our society values busy.  If you’re busy, you’re important.  The opposite is also implied–if you’re not busy, you’re not important.  (Also implied: your job is not important; you’re not very smart; you won’t go anywhere in life.)  Guess what?  These are lies, lies, lies!  I wish I would have realized this sooner!

When I was in college, I would wake up sometimes at 5 a.m. to finish studying before class or do a workout if I was going to miss practice later (I ran cross country and track).  Then I was off to class and the practice rooms for the day (I was a music major…you spend lots of time in the practice rooms, um, practicing.  It kind of looks and sounds like an asylum).  Then, rehearsals and/or cross country practice, dinner, shower, and homework until midnight or 1 a.m.  Repeat, repeat, repeat.  There were times when I would finish a track meet, run to my dorm to shower, throw on a pair of high heels, and go sing in a concert.  I was crazy busy.  I could fall asleep and wake up from a dream in three minutes.  Seriously.  Now, some of that “busy” was mandatory, but most of that was self-inflicted.  I thought I was so very important.  

After college, I decided I was no longer busy.  Sure, my days were full and I was productive, but I was no longer busy.  I gave up the concept of “I’m so/too busy,” but replaced it with, “I am incredibly productive.  I can fit it all in all the time.”  Is “productivity” just a rebranding of “busy?”  Maybe it was for me since “productivity” equaled “important.”

And then I became a mom, and my life slowed wayyyyy down.  Like, take six weeks off from work completely and nurse for eight hours a day.  Sit on the couch and don’t move for forty-five minutes while the baby eats.  I thought I might lose it.  I almost did.

You see, I had prided myself on my productivity for quite some time without even realizing it.  The person who once thought to herself, “I get more done by 9 a.m. than most people do all day” was now saying, “What did I do today?  Oh yeah.  Put on deodorant.  Good job!”

Now my little guy is 16 months old, and I’m doing a little more in a day than just putting on deodorant, but still this season of life is just slower now.  We come home for naps.  We sit and eat lunch together instead of grabbing something while I’m working on something else.  Blowouts are a thing now.  Things just tend to take longer than they did before.  And this is okay.  In fact, it’s really good!  I’ve got a ways to go with learning all of this, but I’m thankful for how far I’ve come.

Here are a few things I’ve learned…

1. Consider the why for your busy.  I do like having a lot of plates spinning.  I have lots of different interests, and I tend to have a lot of energy and motivation, but when I was really busy, I really just liked feeling important.  I liked feeling like I was a big deal.  But guess what?  God didn’t save me because of any of the good stuff I’ve done.  In fact, I had nothing to offer Him at all!  He saved me because of His mercy and grace!  My life’s work is about service to Him, not service to my own ego.  Sometimes this means playing in the sandbox or putting aside my to-do list to take a phone call from a friend.  Sometimes it does mean a rather full plate, too, but the attitude with which I tackle the tasks changes because I have nothing to prove other than, “Look how great God is!”
2. Recognize the concept of “seasons.”  There may be times in life when you have lots of energy for extra things and other times when you don’t.  For example, right now I’m feeling crazy creative!  Like, I put my son to bed at night and go make cards and practice lettering the envelopes.  This is not the normal, analytical Stacey, but I’m going with it!  Usually any creativity would be explored through trying out a new recipe, but right now I don’t love meal planning, and I don’t want to spend a lot of time in my kitchen…totally weird for me, and it is perfectly okay!  We have different seasons of life that lend themselves to different things.  When we embrace them rather than fighting them, we live happier!  If you’re in a season that doesn’t lend itself to hours of fitness or cooking elaborate meals, please stop feeling guilty!  Go with it (that’s why I’m here, anyway).  😉
3. Recognize that you have a finite amount of “brain space” for new things.  I see lots of women who just feel so guilty and overwhelmed about all the things in their lives they feel need to change.  Guess what?  You probably can’t change all of them all at once (and maybe you don’t even need to!).  Pick one or two things to work on at a time, committing your mental energies to those things.  Work them in until they feel natural and enjoyable.  Then, when you’re ready, you can move on to something else.  If you need to incorporate fitness and more nutrient dense foods into your life, try fifteen minutes of exercise three times per week and maybe three additional salads each week.
4. Recognize that every “yes” requires an automatic “no” to something else.  This was a big one for me.  Recently I had to give up volunteering with a local high school cross country team because I realized it meant less time for fun activities and “dates” with Landon on week days that I don’t work and two months of being gone on weekends during prime family time (we don’t get more than a few hours of “family” time during the work week currently, so Saturdays and Sundays really count!).  I realized that I would be seriously missing out on some of the best things in my life right now if I committed to coaching, even though it sounded really fun.  The time was just not now.
5. Recognize that you will always have time for what’s important to you, no matter how “busy” you are.  I recommend writing down the three to five most important things in your life right now.  What do you want to focus on/improve upon?  Decide on a few concrete, tangible ways to move toward your goals (again, that’s why I’m here, particularly in regards to health and fitness).  Work on the big things first in your day and in your brain, and then let the other things fill in when and where they can.  I feel so much better and less frustrated when I do this!

How about you?  Where do you fall prey to the lies of “busy?”  How are you letting go of things that aren’t important to make space for the things that really matter.