Don't Be Busy

  Don’t let “I’m too busy” be part of your vernacular. Very rarely is it true. Be organized and have your priorities straight; you can squeeze in just about anything, or more importantly, just about anyone. If you constantly tell yourself and everyone around you that you’re “too busy,” you’ll procrastinate even more. In your head, you’ll think, “Man, I’m always busy. I need a break.” So you’ll use half of the 3-hour block you’ve set aside to procrastinate and waste time. Maybe you’ll justify it by saying that you’re resting. But you’ll only be resting from the mental strain you’re putting on yourself by constantly thinking you’re “too busy.”

  Each situation is unique in its way and will require different unique solutions. It helps to replace “I’m busy” with a verbal description of what you're busy with. It requires a plan. If I have a 3-hour block to “be busy,” I better know what I’m busy with. More often than not, I realize that my checklist is a lot smaller than I anticipated. I get more things done in a shorter time, and the mental pressure I put on myself to be “too busy” disappears. The more specific the task, the easier it is to accomplish. Perhaps the next time you’re “too busy,” you can take time to define your other tasks and estimate how long they will take to finish.