Why Being "Too Busy" Is The Biggest Lie We've Been Told
Sean is the founder and CEO of Rype, a language learning app. He's an entrepreneur and blogger. Read full profile
Have y'all ever said to yourself, "I'thou also decorated"? "I'm too busy to encounter this person…" "I'thousand too busy to take care of my health…" "I'm too decorated to learn a linguistic communication…" We accept in a big sigh, and even atomic number 82 ourselves to believe that being "besides busy" is something worth celebrating. I've certainly been guilty of this many times over.
In a world of rapid change, infinite access, and countless distractions, our society has built a culture effectually jubilant "keeping busy", for the sake of… well, keeping busy. But there's a massive difference between activity and performance. Nosotros can beefficientin a lot of things in our lives, without ever beingnesseffective.
Here's why telling ourselves that nosotros're "besides decorated" can lead to a negative bike.
We Reap What We Sow
Have you ever bought a new machine, and suddenly you start to observe all the cars that are identical to the ane y'all just bought? Or perchance you lot got a new canis familiaris, and yous offset paying attending to all the dogs that are walking beyond the sidewalk.
It's not that the manufacturers of your car of a sudden decided to release more than models in your metropolis, nor did the population of dogs hit a spike. Information technology means that yourReticular Activating Organizationis at work. Without boring you lot with the scientific details (TL;DR right?), your RAS is the automated machinery within your brain that tells you what to pay attention to, and what not to. Recollect of it as a filter for the brain.
As bland as the proper noun may sound, it's an incredibly of import office of our encephalon since it'due south the gatekeeper that determines how we recollect – consciously or subconsciously. One of the greatest examples of the RAS at work is when Roger Bannister broke the four-infinitesimal mile in 1954, which was claimed to exist impossible at the time. A year later he broke the record, over a dozen people also beat the record, including high schoolhouse students.
The reason why nosotros bring up RAS is because there'south two ways to command our brain:
- Consciously: By purposefully setting goals, affirmations, and visualizing our goals, we can create a filter that enables our brain to focus on anything that will become us closer to our goals.
- Sub-consciously: By telling ourselves "we don't have time", our encephalon is going to discover every reason to justify why nosotros don't have time.
Since our brain will eventually believe any message we feed it, telling ourselves that we're "as well busy" only becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Being Busy Is Not Being Productive
I would oft notice myself busy scrambling to end my to-do list for the week. It's only when I take a step dorsum to reflect that I realize there were only 3 things on that list that made an actual impact to my end goals.
So permit's talk near the cardinal differences between being busy vs. existence productive (effective):
- Busy people have many priorities, productive people take few big priorities.
- Busy people focus on activity, productive people focus on clarity earlier taking action.
- Busy people multitask, productive people focus on one chore at a time.
- Busy people react to emails immediately, productive people carve out a portion of the day to answer all of their emails at once.
- Busy people talk nigh how they're "too busy", productive people make fourth dimension for what's of import.
Did you lot say "yeah" to more of the busy category or the productive category?
The truth is, all of usa take the time to do anything nosotros want: spend time with family, learn a language, become to the gym, cook a salubrious meal, etc. We just tin can't doeverythingwe want.
Nosotros should also consider the Pareto's Police: In nigh anything we exercise in our lives, only ~20% of our inputs (i.eastward. activities, tasks, money, time) will deliver ~80% of our desired results.
This means that if y'all're
- Learning a new linguistic communication: focus on one solution that volition give you 80% of your desired result (i.e. reaching conversation fluency)
- Edifice a concern: focus on the few vital features that deliver 80% of satisfaction to your customers
- Getting in shape: focus on the few exercises that tin workout 80% of your body
So how practice we put this into action? A solution that has been working incredibly well for me is asking 1 simple question…
What'due south Your I Matter?
In the bestselling volume,The I Thing,Gary Keller describes it equally "the 'one affair' you can do such that by doing it, everything else will exist easier or unnecessary." Yous can employ this concept to your business life, personal life, physical health, finances, etc.
As elementary every bit this exercise may sound, it'southward 1 of the nearly difficult questions I enquire myself. Essentially, you're forcing yourself to say "no" to the skilful opportunities, and so that you tin can make mode for the opportunities that tin can modify your life. Sometimes those lines are blurred, but by simply asking the correct question: you can terminate beingness "likewise busy", and start being productive.
The Takeaway
Inquire yourself: are you proverb "yes" to as well many things? If you lot are, it may be time to reprioritize your goals and activities. For the residue of the day (or week if you can), try approaching anything that comes at you past asking: is this my "ONE Thing?"
If the answer is "no", then move on. Remember, saying "no" to the mediocre will open up upwards the opportunity to say "yes" to the extraordinary.
Source: https://www.lifehack.org/403147/why-being-too-busy-is-the-biggest-lie-weve-been-told
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