Are you too busy?

I mean REALLY too busy?  Often my default thought when any sort of request for my time comes in is ‘noooooooooo, I can’t take on anything else!’.

Now of course sometimes that’s true.  But am I really too busy to do anything else? Am I really too busy for that fresh air walk at lunchtime or the time to ride my horse and clear my head?

They say that if you want something done you should ask a busy person and I certainly subscribe to that notion.

However, I also know that if I wanted to create more time in my day, I could.

• I could cut down the time I spend on Instagram
• I could not watch any TV
• I could get up an hour earlier in the morning (for me, that’s a real challenge)
• I could delegate more tasks to other people

‍

And I’m sure there are many more things I could try.

Sometimes it’s certainly more about efficiency than volume of tasks.

Do we procrastinate?

Are we doing tasks that don’t even need to be done (I was horrified lately when a friend told me that she irons her husband’s boxer shorts – life is FAR too short for that!)?

Should we be saying no to more tasks (more on that topic in a future email)?

Are we getting distracted mid-task by more emails pinging into our inbox?

Are we constantly saying we’re too busy because it’s easier than facing a difficult task or decision?

Or are we perhaps just so conditioned into thinking we are ‘too busy’ that we simply never reassess our priorities?

Certainly, I think that life is sad if we start saying no to fun social events because we’re ‘too busy’ with work tasks.

One telltale sign that we should be doing less is when conversations all seem to revolve around being too busy or wishing time away so that we can come out the other side of a hectic time. After a while, ‘busyness’ almost becomes a competition and we stop listening to the answer and instead simply try to outdo each other.

Next time someone asks you how you are, maybe try to give them an answer that doesn’t involve ‘Oh, crazily busy, you know how it is!’. Instead, try to do something in your day that’s enjoyable (and not all about busyness) and tell them about that – ‘Oh I’m feeling great today because I managed a quick sea swim before work.’

We can ALL make more time if we want to. We just need to choose to. And we need to remember that life is short and that we only get one go at it. Good luck and let me know how you get on!

‍