Busy?

def: BUSY adj
1. actively or fully engaged or occupied; "busy with her work"; "a busy man"; "too busy to eat lunch";
2. crowded with or characterized by much activity; "a very busy week"; "a busy life"; "a busy street"; "a busy seaport"

I’m often asked how I have time to do everything I do in a day. I wrote about this a few times, the most recent can be found here, (http://betterperspective.blogspot.com/2006/01/simplicity.html) but as it’s a question / comment I hear frequently, I thought I’d look at it again to see if there were any tricks of the trade I could share with you. Perhaps I need a shadow to shadow the Shadow! But in the meantime, here are a few of my own observations…

First of all, busy doesn’t mean effective or efficient. It means just what the definition says; busy as in crowded with activity. How the activity is executed is the key.

I still believe the best way to accomplish the most, or work smarter as it’s called these days is to simplify. Whether it’s looking at an email once, not 10 times, or compartmentalizing the day into workable chunks, any way you can simplify a schedule is the first step. One of my clients, who has an intense, chaotic schedule on a daily basis decided to schedule meetings in the mornings, leaving afternoons for chunks of time to get through her own work.

What needs to be stipulated are the variables because one way will NOT work for all.

1. People have different levels of energy and sustained focus time
2. Some people have more control over their days than others, though they still have control over some of the day.
3. Some people have a hard time making split second decisions and waffling eats up time AND energy
4. Some people insist on maintaining control of their administrivia and that eats up an incredible amount of time. Automate everything that’s automatable and you’ll have all this free time to fill instantly!
5. Basically everyone is faced with the same dilemma; not enough time to get everything done. Therefore choices have to be made. Choices for what’s first, what’s last, what’s urgent, what can be put aside for now….who to see, who not to see, when to meet, when not to meet….get the picture?
6. People frequently chase success…often in the wrong places. A colossal waste of time and energy. Become masterful at what you do well and success will find you. Attraction Principles at their best. But that’s another conversation altogether.
7. People think technology will make their lives easier. NOT! Technology is a tool. Period! What you do with it will determine whether or not it will simplify your life or make it more complicated.
8. People have bad days and they have great days. The key is to figure out what made it so great and repeat it. Often!

What isn’t a variable is the number of minutes in a day. We all have the same amount of time. That’s a constant. How we spend them is key.

I know I left out a great deal but blogs shouldn’t be 10 pages long. We can continue this. First I’d love to hear what it is that you’re dealing within the chaos of your day and we'll talk about specifics.

Best!
Donna Karlin

*Note: Welcome 90th subscriber country from Kazakhstan!