When someone asks how your week or day is going, do find yourself automatically responding with “crazy busy”! or even just “busy”? We have been conditioned to think that if we are not acting busy, then we are not worthwhile. Want to be productive instead of crazy busy?
In either work or life, when we are busy, it should be with a purpose; working towards a goal or becoming a better version of you — making a difference instead of ‘just being busy’.
Sometimes we need to take a step back and assess our busyness. If we are busy, is that busyness for a reason or making an impact on our goals? If not, maybe we need to refocus our time and energy on becoming productive instead of aimlessly ‘crazy busy’.
Let’s have a look at how to be productive instead of crazy busy.
Be intentional with your time
We tend to pack our calendars, leaving little time to relax, leading to burnout. Which, in turn, leads to stress, unhappiness and a whole bunch of other not so great side effects.
Stop being busy and start being productive by analysing your calendar and removing any activities or commitments that no longer add to your happiness or impact your goals.
How could your time be better spent? Could you wake up earlier and use that extra hour before everyone wakes up to complete tasks you cannot during the day? Or spend 30 minutes in the evening preparing lunch and any essentials for the next day?
Your time is precious, so use it wisely.
Plan and prepare
This quote has to be one of my all-time favourites. It resonates with how most people run their lives. People are always saying how busy they are and how little time they have. I could all most guarantee that those people fail to plan their day or life in general.
Planning and preparing for the day ahead minimises the chances of you being late, rushing around like a headless chicken and forgetting things. You have a good understanding of what needs to be done when it needs to be done, and you have the chance to foresee and avoid possible problems.
Check your calendar daily and weekly, so you are aware of any appointments or events, giving you ample time to plan and prepare. You can keep a to-do list either paper or electronically with all the tasks you need to complete, priorities for that day or week, so you do not have to remember it all and minimise the risk of forgetting something important.
Create systems and routines
Creating systems and routines can help you become more organised, efficient and productive with your time.
I explain the importance of systems and routines in this post, and I give examples in this post on potential systems and routines, so I will not go into it too much.
These systems and routines are a crucial element to being productive and not wasting time being ‘busy’. They allow you to focus on the important tasks at hand and reduces the inevitable process of guessing what needs to be done.
Set intentional goals
Are you the type of person who sets goals then does not take any action to actually achieving them? Ever wondered why this might be? Maybe you are going through life with outside forces stopping you from really knowing where you would like to be in the next 5 or 10 years?
Set aside 30 minutes to sit and reflect on what you want from life. Using a notebook or journal, brainstorm your short term, medium-term and your long term goals. Include what you want your life to look like and what you would like to achieve. Think about the tasks and priorities to make these goals achievable, then write them as bullet points under each goal.
There you have it, an easy way to create achievable goals and becoming intentional with your goal setting.
Now all you have to do is TAKE ACTION and put what you just wrote down into PRACTICE!
Stop putting things off
When a problem arises, deal with it. When you have something to do, take action and do it. If you find yourself stuck and not sure where to start, pick a task and dive right in. Starting is the hardest part. Run into a dilemma? Write down the pro’s and con’s and choose a solution.
Do not procrastinate; it is bad for you! Procrastination will stop you from achieving your goals; you just get caught up on the issue, never taking action.
Be an action taker rather than a procrastinator!
Minimise distractions in your workspace
Most of us will have a workspace, whether it be at work or at home. I utilise a minimalist workspace at home as I can find myself spending several hours doing either blog work or tracking my finances. I cannot afford to be distracted while working; it prolongs my time spent at my workspace instead of on me time.
Try not using your work-space for multiple tasks. Meaning, if you play computer games, then have a separate area for where you work. Do not mix the two. Have only what you use on your work-space. Less clutter on your desk helps eliminate mental clutter creating space to be productive.
Check notifications once a day
Set aside sometime each day to check your emails, social media notifications, and any other notifications you receive.
Combining all these daily tasks into one small routine will prevent the distraction of you checking them throughout the day.
Ask yourself specific questions
Ask yourself specific questions like:
- What is the most important thing I can do right now?
- What is one small step I can take to simplify this situation?
- Is this task useful?
- Is this helping me achieve my goals?
- Does this event add to my happiness?
Focus on being productive, not busy
Do not the type of person to just get things done; focus on getting the right things done, at 100% of your efforts. The results are far more important than how long it takes you to achieve them.
Ask yourself “is what I am working on worth my efforts”? “Is it bringing me closer to my goals”?
Try not to get caught up in all the odd jobs, they may seem urgent at the time, but if they are not necessary right now do not waste your energy on them.
Do you use any of these methods to be productive instead of crazy busy? Email me or comment below. I love hearing from you!
Until next post, Au revoir!
