I’m Too Busy To Do That

It’s a common refrain. You feel as if you are too busy keeping up with your world to do the things you really want to do. Maybe that is:

• Starting a new hobby

• Starting a side-gig business

• Preparing for the future

• Going on a vacation

• Regularly visiting the gym

• Networking

• Volunteering your time

• Looking for a new job or career

• Or any other of a myriad of activities that may be important to you

The question I ask is “do you really not have enough time?” When you dig a little deeper you might find that there are deeper reasons as to why you are so busy and can't find time for these important activities. Perhaps you are:

• Avoiding the hard stuff? It is easy to perpetually put off hard stuff because we feel it will take so much time or take so long.

• Not really seeing value in these activities therefore not prioritizing them?

• Spending too much time on the stuff you are doing because you are trying to do them perfectly?

• Avoiding them because you are afraid you won’t succeed?

• Avoiding them because the last time you tried, you didn’t succeed?

All of these are blocks that keep you from getting the work done that is important to you. It is your mind playing tricks on you.

If any of these resonate with you, here are some tools that can be useful:

• Organize your tasks based on importance and urgency. If something is important, but not urgent, schedule time on your calendar to get it done and stick to it. If it is urgent and not important, try delegating it.

• Ask yourself what quality is “good enough” . It is common to spending too much time on the last mile of a task trying to reach a state of perfection. Is perfection needed?

• If something didn’t succeed last time, ask yourself “Just because that happened in the past, what makes me think it will happen that way again?” What is different now?

• If you are afraid you won’t succeed, think back to other times you had a similar task and what about you helped it succeed. Tap into those strengths to attempt this task.

• And minimally, take one small step. One small step can easily propel you to the next step. And if you perceive it as hard, a small step is seemingly so much easier.

If you find yourself still struggling to make the time for these important activities, coaching may be for you. Schedule a free coaching discovery call to explore how coaching can help you interact with the world in a more positive way.