Are you really that busy?
How many times have you uttered the words, I am too busy?
Maybe you are trying to find time to workout, or meditate, or meet up with friends, or even go on a date. But you are too damn busy.
As a society, we have a tendency to glorify busy-ness. Our default answer to “how are you” is “busy” (usually said with a little bit of pride). We have all done it at one point or another. We use our packed schedule as a badge of honor and status symbol, proving how important we are because we are just so busy. Being busy makes us feel needed and there can be a lot of pressure to always be moving and doing something. It can also be a way to avoid being alone with our thoughts and feelings.
But we are not designed to be going all the time. Our bodies and minds need time to decompress and relax. And this constant doing creates a great deal of stress and anxiety, which can lead to all sorts of health issues.
We all have the same 168 hours per week. And whether you recognize it or not, how you spend those hours is up to you.
Two of my favorite ways to take back control over my schedule and assess my priorities are to track my time and change my language.
Track your time. We tend to think we are busier than we are and research has shown we overestimate how many hours we spend working and doing tasks we don’t want to do. By tracking where your time actually goes, you can see how much free time you really have and what you are spending it on. So for one week, keep an exact log of how you are using your time.
This will help you determine how you can adjust your schedule to better align with your priorities. Maybe you need to say no to some things that are taking up too much time relative to how much you care about them. It can also be eye opening to see how much time is squandered on things such as watching tv, social media, searching the internet, or running unnecessary errands.
It can be a scary adjustment to go from constantly moving and doing to having some open space in your calendar. But it is worth getting over that uncomfortable feeling to be able to have some room to breathe and fill the space in with things you want.
Change your language. One of the most impactful things you can do is change your language from “I don’t have time” to “It is not important to me.” Instead of I don’t have time to workout, working out is not important to me. I don’t have time to see my friends becomes hanging out with friends is not important to me. And so on.
The point is not to make yourself feel bad but to become aware of what your priorities are. It might be true that right now working out or hanging out with friends is not a priority and that there are other things that are more important to you. But if your health is a top priority for you and you are constantly saying you are too busy to cook or workout, well then you need to reevaluate your schedule, and something is going to have to give.
Try these tips out and take back some control over your time. Those 168 hours are going to pass one way or another, make sure you are spending them intentionally. And the next time someone asks you how you are doing, I challenge you to answer with something more interesting than busy.
