Remember when ‘hurry” didn’t dictate your life? You were free to hang out with friends and family, able to laugh genuinely without wondering if you’re forgetting some important task. There is a way to get back to that place, but it means learning to do a few things differently.
Many others have tried to address this issue in their own lives with quick fixes. A new hack, a new app, a new trick of some sort, and very rarely have any of those methods led to lasting change. The truth is that it will take time and work to establish new habits that help you to guard your time better.
There are no shortcuts to the kind of result you want, but there are principles that will make your journey less like taking a mountain and more like taking a hill. To stop being busy all the time, here are a few things you should start doing today:
Start With Why - Have a clear and convicted answer to why you need to stop being busy all the time. If you don’t have this, it will be easy to be persuaded to move your boundaries, fill your schedule, and end up right back where you don’t want to be. A simple way of finding your personal why is by asking, “what is the cost of not making a serious change?” Could it cost you your marriage, your children’s’ future, your personal health, or in extreme cases your life? Answer this question in a sentence or two: “What’s really at stake if my pace of life does not change?”
Start With a Schedule - In the same way, we have a financial budget to tell us where our money should go before we even get it, it’s imperative to have a pre-existing time-budget or schedule, for the same purpose. This way when you’re asked to invest your time into something unplanned it’s easier to know if you have the time to do it or if it’s something you’ll regret later. Doing this also allows you to answer without feeling pressured or guilty.
Start With a Map - Life is a journey. Your desire is to get from where you are to where you know that you, your marriage, your family, etc, are supposed to be. To get to places you’ve never been before when traveling, you need a map. A map helps you to see where you are, where you want to go, and the best ways to get there. You can get access to a free download of VIDA map, The Work-Life Balance Journal & Planner here. It's a functional life map that helps you with this step.
Start Dropping The Ball - Okay, this one might feel a little weird, but hear me out. Chances are, you’re already dropping the ball in some area(s) of life if you’re busy all the time. Maybe not in a major way, but in some way. The question is, would you rather drop the ball in the areas of marriage, family, and health, or some other place? Choose today, ahead of time, which areas are worth dropping the ball in, instead of having it chosen for you.
There are four key areas of life: Personal, Family, Social, and Career. Take few minutes to write our the three to four biggest responsibilities in each area of life and determine now that you will not drop the ball in those areas (as much as it is in your power).
If you’re interested in taking the next step in your journey to living a less hurried and more balanced life, start by downloading a free copy of my Life Balance Workbook here. It’s a step-by-step guide to applying the twelve principles that I used to help others recover and maintain life balance.
QUESTION: What’s at stake for you, if you don’t learn to stop being busy all the time?
This is a tough question to answer, but answering it may be what gives you the power you need to make serious changes in your life. It’s possible for you to start seeing the progress you can celebrate in a matter of days if you take these principles into consideration.
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