Busy vs Productive
In one corner of the ring, with a 64-item to-do list, setting out to be an utter failure: BEING BUSY.
On the opposite corner, totally chill and threatening the survival of the ego: BEING PRODUCTIVE.
WHO WILL WIN TODAY?
Productivity is not just office work. It’s everything: working, crafting, playing, relationships, self-care, rest. And many times we confuse being busy with being productive. A gazillion articles have been written about the subject online (my google search on being busy vs being productive showed 41.900.000 results) so here is the gist of it:
BEING BUSY IS:
Fueled by perfectionism: keeps the ego happy
Driven by stress
You LOOK LIKE you’re on a mission
Saying yes too quickly
Multitasking
Long to-do lists
Focus solely on action in spite of the “muddy waters”
Everything is a priority
Values completion over progress
Ending the day feeling you didn’t get much done
BEING PRODUCTIVE IS:
Fueled by purpose: goals are the compass
Relaxed
You HAVE a mission
Knows how to say “NO”
Single task
2 to 5 items the on to-do list
Focus on clarity first and action later
Knows what to prioritize that will serve the bigger picture
Values progress over completion
Ending the day with plenty of time and energy to spare
So which one are you?
If after reading this you realize you are usually busy and not so productive, first and foremost: please don’t let this be one more reason to beat yourself up with a stick. I can guarantee you it won’t lead you anywhere but defeat-land.
Second, here are three simple things you can do today in just 15 minutes to stop being busy and start being productive instead:
Take 5 minutes to do some deep breathing and channel “future you” from a month from now.
In 5 minutes, outline your main priorities and goals for the next month -do not overthink this.
The last 5 minutes: align your to-do list to these priorities. You’ll find that it has reduced itself to half, at least.
We all go in and out of the busy category all the time in different aspects of our life: it is one of the ways our brain avoids dealing with more important and scary things (scary good and scary bad). The key is to recognize it for what it is, avoid dwelling and ruminating and move on.
Learning to be more productive and less busy every day will help you be a go-getter and make your dreams a reality. Try following these simple, yet super-effective, steps to become a more productive person, quit rushing and stressing, and slow down to smell the proverbial roses!
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