Busy does not equal productive. If you’re feeling all over the place, like you’re never pushing forward and never getting anything done – you’re probably just busy. And just how busy does not equal productive, you can be productive without being busy. Sounds crazy, right?
Society has made us think that having downtime means that we’re lazy or unproductive, which has created an entire generation of people who accept being overworked and idolize burnout because simply because they’re busy.
The truth is, productivity isn’t measured by the number of hours you put into the day, it’s measured by the results you achieved. So if you spent the last 5 hours cleaning your email inbox, I’m sorry to tell you, you were NOT productive. To achieve productivity, you need to be intentional and mindful of everything that surrounds the time you’re putting in so you can achieve results and move forward. Use your time wisely and eliminate, automate, and delegate when possible.
Create a Life & Business Mission
What’s your mission? Why do you do what you do? What’s the end goal here? Figure this out and put it somewhere you can see it every day as a constant reminder of why you do what you do.
Prioritize
You don’t need to do all the things at once. Figure out what’s most important or time-sensitive, and block out time without any interruptions specifically for that. Once you’re done with that, then you can work on smaller and less important things.
Say Yes More Often
While there’s definitely going to be a lot of times in your life when the word ‘no’ will prevent you from burning yourself out or taking on too much, ultimately saying yes is what gets you the farthest. Saying yes to new things puts you in a position to meet new people, master new skills, and challenge yourself. Those are things you should want for yourself – as long as they align with your goals, values, principles, and morals.
Know Exactly What’s Expected
Make sure all question marks are out of the way before you begin a new task so can focus wholeheartedly. And if questions come up while you’re doing it, write them down, do what you can with what you have, and then go back to them. Not only will this make sure you’re ahead of the game, it feels good to only have to plug-in pieces instead of having to start all over again.
Stop Falling for Shiny Object Syndrome
If you didn’t need it before you started, you don’t need it when you’re doing it either. Do what you need to do and come back to it if you must. This should NOT take up the bulk of your time and you shouldn’t use it as an excuse to slow down.
Make Time to do The Things
You can’t get ahead unless you get ahead. If you keep wasting time doing things that don’t move your forward (like changing your branding every 30 days. I see you) then you just won’t. If you feel like there aren’t enough hours in the day, you’re wrong. The hours are there – you just aren’t making the most of them. It might be time to outsource or eliminate those things that are eating up your hours.
Forget Multitasking
It doesn’t exist. You can’t give your all to something if you’re giving something else your attention at the same time. Just stop it.
Put a plan in place, eliminate distractions, prioritize, and make the time if you’re serious about changing your life. Busy is not a sustainable way of living and you’re better than that.
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