This year I decided to stop saying that I’m busy. It was my “go-to” response most of the time when people would ask me how things are going. Busy seemed to sum it up pretty well. I came to the realization that busy didn’t necessarily mean that I was getting things done. So often I felt that I was doing a lot but accomplishing very little.
That’s when I decided that I would change my language around how my life is going. Instead of saying I’m busy, I say I’m productive. I’m not just saying it either, I feel more productive. I’m no longer taking on tasks for the sake of doing them. If I’m saying yes to something, it’s because it’s in alignment with the things I committed to doing this year.
I no longer say yes because I’m afraid of the consequences of saying no, whether that means disappointing someone or missing out on something that everyone else is doing. If I really want to make my goals a reality this year, then I have to remain focused. This doesn’t mean having tunnel vision – I’m open to the opportunities that exist or are coming to help me get where I want to be. What it does mean is that I’m no longer getting distracted by shiny objects or discouraged by the disappointments.
I used to use the claim that I was busy as a badge of honour. It was like I was telling anyone that was wondering that I am working on stuff. I feel like I started to use this phrase more when I quit my full-time job as a defense against those who doubted I could make it work. It was like I had to show them that I was busy with my business, not sitting at home catching up on talk shows or soap operas.
I’ve found that focus has made the difference for me when it comes to being productive versus being busy. When I lack focus, I’m busy looking for the answer to what I should be doing next. I’m saying yes to things in the hopes that it will lead somewhere when I’m not certain where it is that I’m headed!
For me, productive means having a list of 2 of 3 major goals that I want to accomplish each day and getting at least 2 of them accomplished. It means that I’m checking in with myself on a daily basis and tracking my progress and reflecting on what’s working, what isn’t working, and why. It does take discipline to keep this going on a consistent basis, but I know that it’s working for me, so I keep doing it 😉
If you’d like to become more productive in the last 2 months of 2020, join me for my 4X System starting Monday, November 2, 2020! It’s designed to take your productivity to the next level 🙂