It's ok to be busy
We’ve never been busier. We’re surrounded by the hustle culture from work, study, family, friends, and social media. Sometimes it feels like there’s never a good time to switch off.
But guess what? You can switch off and still be busy. It’s all about rewiring your mindset and being in the driver’s seat of your actions.
Think of it like this. What’s the opposite of busy? It’s not emptiness or laziness. We all have the same 24 hours each day. It’s choice and prioritization that makes or breaks our busyness.
Are you a good busy or a bad busy?
I’m the first to admit that I was a bad busy. Bad busy to the point of being played out. I thought busy was equivalent to success and accomplishments. Boy was I wrong. I didn’t know how much I needed to stop, look, and listen until I took the time to do so.
The thing is, I crave the buzz of being busy.
However, society condemns us for being too busy.
There’s nothing wrong with wearing a badge of busy, though. It’s all about balance and knowing what part of busy works for you and when to put ME-time front row center.
As it turns out, busyness isn't a state of being. It's a state of mind, which means we can unlearn how to be busy.
Here are three ways to put busy in the right perspective.
Focus on what really matters. Working on the right things is empowering and can help you stay motivated. This also helps you stay in the present moment and focus on the here and now instead of rehashing the past and rehearsing for the future. Don’t miss your life.
Create a ritual. What does busy look like for you and how can you disconnect—even for 10 minutes? I always start my day with a short meditation session followed by a short yoga practice with gratitude thrown in for good measure. EVERY DAY. This ritual is a meeting with myself. If journaling is your thing, then spend time doing that. Do what works for you.
Set boundaries. We need boundaries in our lives. Boundaries set the basic guidelines of how we want to be treated and how we want to treat ourselves. If you don’t set healthy boundaries, you may end up spending your time and energy doing what others want you to do over what you deep down want to do. Train your brain to block out space for you.
