Sponsored Listings:
I get it, you’re busy.
I’m busy, we’re all busy. Ask someone “So how’ve you been?” and the answer you’ll often receive is “Oh you know, busy.”
We live in an age where being ‘busy’ is often associated with a having full and successful life.
But time and time again we use the excuse of being ‘too busy’ to do things. And that’s all it is, an excuse. The reality is that you’re not, you just have a list of priorities in your head. Occasionally you may just have them in the wrong order. You say you want to travel the world, but your office job is stopping you. You want to get abs like Zac Efron but you don’t have time to hit the gym. As humans we are really good at convincing ourselves that we have very little time to spare, yet in fact at the very same time we’re often wasting hours and hours on the Internet.
When you’re saying you’re too busy it’s really one of two things:
Whatever it is isn’t a priority
If you find yourself making an excuse like, “Sorry I didn’t do X, Y, Z – I’ve just been sooo busy” then it really either you don’t care that much, or whatever it is just isn’t at the top of your priority list right now.
Every day we have choices to make. I check my emails, take a look at what work I need to do, then prioritise it. If I’m contacted by someone about something that isn’t paid, but I have a bunch of work to do that is paid, I’m clearly going to prioritise that work first.
You’re not managing your time efficiently
I’ve always had the motto of ‘work smarter, not harder’. If you have to work late at the office now and again because you have a big project to get done then fine. But if you’re consistently staying late at work, you might want to examine how efficient you are at working. You have 8 hours between the hours of 9 and 5 – that’s actually a lot of time. For 6 months I worked in an office. There was one colleague who was pretty much always the last one there. When we discussed why he worked late he said “I don’t know really, it’s become force of habit I guess”. How much time do you spend making coffee, chatting, going to the toilet, staring at your computer screen? How much time do you spend in meetings that weren’t necessary?
My work is never finished. The moment my inbox says ‘0 unread messages’, another one arrives in my inbox. I’ve learnt that sometimes I just have to answer all my emails quickly in one hit, then save the rest till another day. Your inbox is just someone else’s agenda, so don’t let it rule your life. Sometimes it’s necessary to shut the laptop and make time for other things.
Now you might say, “But you’re a travel blogger Victoria, it’s easy for you to talk about time because you don’t work 9 to 5!” I actually work just as many hours as everyone else, if not more because I’m expected to be available 24/7. What I have learnt though, is that it’s all about time management and efficiency. The faster you work, the more time you have for play.
Tips for freeing up time
Learn to say ‘no’ – If you don’t want to do something, just come out and say a firm NO. At the time it might feel like you’re offending the other person or letting them down. But actually you’re doing them a huge favour in the long run because you’re not wasting their time. How many times have you agreed to go to drinks because you felt obligated? How many times have you said ‘yes’ just because you were afraid of hurting someone’s feelings? I’m known for being honest, sometimes brutally so. If I don’t want to do something I just say I don’t want to do it. Honesty always wins, excuses suck.
Watch how much time you spend on the phone – We’ve all had that moment when we’ve looked around and noticed that EVERYONE is gazing into their iPhone screens. It looks kind of depressing doesn’t it? Next time you pick up your phone, think about whether you’re actually using it to do something useful or whether you’re just mindlessly scrolling through your Facebook feed. Do you need to make that phone call to your friends, or are you just doing it out of boredom/habit? Become aware of the habit and put the phone down again. Use that time to either sit with your own thoughts and clear your head, or do something productive.
Cut back on alcohol – Alcohol is the biggest time waster. I’ve had so many wasted days from bad hangovers. They suck balls. Once you cut the alcohol you get a better sleep and have more time to check everything off that to-do list the next day.
Set yourself goals – The key really is to set yourself a goal and then take action. If you want to get fit, all you have to do is make it a priority, set your alarm a bit earlier and go to the gym. Really busy, successful business people still have time to keep fit, so you have time too. They don’t have superpowers, they just honed their time management skills. Set the goal, take the action.
Keeping your weekends for you
I rarely ever make solid plans on weekends. Weekends are my free time to relax and unwind, so I like to keep things open. I might feel like calling up my girlfriends and going out for brunch, or I might feel like curling up into a ball, sleeping and watching every episode of House of Cards on TV. The point is I have a choice.
Recently I was talking to a relative who said he was exhausted because he and his wife are booked up pretty much every weekend till December. When I pointed out that he could just not make plans, he smiled and said “You’re right, but I’ve just always liked to have things planned for the weekends.”
It’s fine if you like being busy all the time. Just don’t complain about being tired. If you’re tired and stressed then you can just cancel all of those plans and tell everyone that what you really need is a good sleep. This summer I went on a lot of back to back trips and by the end of it I was just completely burnt out. When I got back I wiped my calendar clean and it was so satisfying to make time for health and all the things that matter to me.
At the end of the day, it all comes down to choices. Don’t like your job? You can quit it. Feel burnt out? Clear your schedule. You’re not too busy, you’re just making choices.
The post You’re Not Too Busy appeared first on Pommie Travels.
Source: pommietravels.com