Photo credit: pikisuperstar via Freepik

?????I grew up with the belief that one must work hard to succeed in life. And that pretty meant working more.

I used to prize being busy - adding items on my list of things to do. It felt ?right? and I felt needed and wanted.

The good thing about having long to-do lists is that i was always occupied and I felt I was accomplishing more.

I was living a rat-race... fearful that I would miss out on opportunities. So I took on more things than I actually wanted. I said yes to things that didn?t make sense. I agreed to beliefs that didn?t sit well with me.

All because I was afraid to miss out.

That is what the addiction to staying busy does to you. When things slow down, your body goes into panic and you?d want to take on something just so you don?t feel like you?re not doing anything.

And you take on what?s in front of you: it can be something that?s totally ?off? but you take it on anyway.

Because it?s easier than doing nothing.

Is it though?

Is doing something better than doing nothing?

Not always.

A lot of studies show that when we allow ourselves to ?live in the moment? or to ?slow down?, our lives become less flustered as we get a better sense of what it is we really want.

We give ourselves enough space to think things through before committing ourselves to anything, thus bringing down the chance of us getting pulled into so many directions.

So how do you beat the addiction to staying busy? Instead focus on being more productive and focused?

Here are a few different ways:

1. Wake up at least 10 minutes earlier than you?re used to. This allows you to ?cheat? your brain into thinking that you have much more time and that you don?t need to rush and head out.

2. Block your times. Avoid multi-tasking. Instead, block your times to do things. For example, take all your meetings on certain days and leave the rest for admin work, for brainstorming, for reflecting

3. Journal. Ask yourself what you no longer want in your life and do your best to gradually eradicate that from your life.

4. Take a lazy day for yourself. You don?t need to be always ?on?. Watch some Tv, read some books and just relax a bit! Practice being slow and practice doing nothing and just being in the moment.

5. Drink slowly. If you keep gulping down water, you will feel that sudden influx of energy and then will want to channel all those to many things.

Give them a try and see how your life has changed because of it!

SHARE THIS POST