Being Busy Does Not Equal Being Productive

How many people do you know who are so busy being busy that they never seem to get anything worthwhile done? Does that describe you, maybe even just a little bit?

Being busy all the time, through necessity, is a curse. Being busy all the time, for the sake of it, is madness.

Continual busy-ness eventually leads to stress, particularly if results are minimal. You see, it will get to a point where something has to give way. It's like filling a balloon with air. Eventually no more air will fit inside the balloon and it will do the only thing it can. It will burst.

It's OK to have busy periods through each day, each week, each month and each year. However, you also need time to relax. Time to re-charge the batteries.

People who are continuously busy over long periods suffer from two main problems:

  • 1 - they have difficulty saying "no" to anyone
  • 2 - they have difficulty delegating tasks to others

    • Let's look at each in turn.

    First, those who cannot say "no." I have a saying: "You can't save the entire world." No matter how good your intentions are, you cannot be everything to everyone.

    Make a list of those who need and deserve your time. They are the one's you should give priority to. Anyone else comes next - if you have the time to spare.

    A wise man once said, "work always expands to fit available time." It's true. But it is only true if you allow it to happen.

    You can always do the odd favor for someone on the odd occasion. Learn to say no in a nice way. Here is one such way: "If I get all my own work done, I will consider your request." What does that really say? It says your work is important. If you get it done you will help. Naturally, if you cannot get it done you cannot help. It's a soft way of saying no. Usually the asker will then go and find another person to ask.

    By saying no you actually help other people to grow. Imagine if you always said yes to tying up your daughter's shoe laces. If you never said no she would still be asking you to do it at twenty years of age. By saying no you make her learn to do it for herself. Remember the old saying about giving a hungry person a fish to eat versus teaching the hungry person how to catch their own fish to eat?

    By saying no we can free up more time for ourselves and those who need or deserve our time the most. Do not become a slave.

    Turning to the second problem, delegation - learn to enlist others to perform tasks that they are better equipped, or have more time, to do.

    If you run all over the place attempting to do everything yourself you will never have sufficient time to do anything properly. Delegation is the art of a true leader. The secret to successful delegation is to build the importance of the task into the mind of the person you are delegating it to. Then, when they do it, thank them and praise them sincerely for the things they did well.

    Don't ever think you are irreplaceable, particularly at your employment. Somebody gave me a definition once of irreplaceability in the workforce. It went something like this: "Get a bucket of water, roll up your sleeve and thrust your arm into the water. Now pull your arm out. The time it takes for the water to settle back into position will be about the same time it will take to replace you!"

    Learning to say no and being able to delegate will allow you to perform the tasks you really want to do and really need to do yourself at a much higher level of proficiency.

    AL Williams wrote a book called "All You Can Do is All You Can Do But All You Can Do is Enough!" (ISBN: 0-8041-0499-9). Catchy title, isn't it?

    In his book, Williams says: "Don't worry about things you can't change. Focus on making your part of the world better, because when they click your lights out for the last time, you can't have any regrets."

    Like I said earlier - you can't save the whole world. Don't even try.

    If you want to be more productive, try to re-organize the way you plan your time. You can do this by:

  • 1 - making a list of things requiring your attention
  • 2 - prioritizing the list
  • 3 - doing essential things first, non-essential things last
  • 4 - after every third task, rewarding yourself in some small way
  • 5 - continue to work your way through the list in sets of three

    • At the end of the day review your list. This is important because it will allow you to see how much you have done and achieved. Achievement will drive you forward to more achievement.

    So, now you don't have to be busy, busy, busy and get little done. You can just be busy achieving what you want.

    [If you like this article and would like to use it on your own website or ezine you may do so ONLY if the article is not changed in any way and the final paragraph: "About the author", with all links intact, is included.]

    About the author: Gary Simpson is the author of eight books covering a diverse range of subjects such as self esteem, affirmations, self defense, finance and much more. His articles appear all over the web. Gary's email address is budo@iinet.net.au. Click here to go to his Motivation & Self Esteem for Success website where you can receive his "Zenspirational Thoughts" plus an immediate FREE copy of his highly acclaimed, life-changing e-book "The Power of Choice."

    In The News:

    pen paper and inkwell


    cat break through


    Painful Cost of Working Yourself to Death

    We all know the harmful effects of overwork. People get... Read More

    When Is Time Management Not Enough?

    A working manager needs more than time management.That old saying,... Read More

    Keeping YOUR Calendar Full

    When do you want to make time for a networking... Read More

    The Laundry Has Never Been More Fun Or The Pitfalls To Working At Home

    As a home-based, self-employed woman, mundane tasks can be as... Read More

    Time Mastery vs. Time Management - Knowing the Difference

    How much time do you spend on Mastering Your Time?... Read More

    More Time Wanted? Deal with Your Time-wasters Now!

    Ever feel that you spend too much time shoring up... Read More

    Are You Really Swamped or Just Disorganized

    "Time is what we need the most and what we... Read More

    TIME, The Undervalued Resource

    We are all born equal! We all have the same... Read More

    Career Redesign Tools For Work-Life Balance

    Partnering with the University of Pennsylvania Law School and the... Read More

    The Myth of What We Manage

    Perhaps it is merely semantics, but an underlying problem I... Read More

    Realistic Time Budgeting Tips

    I'm sure we've all had the experience of having a... Read More

    Take Back Your Time

    "You will never find time for anything. You must make... Read More

    Top Ten Motivators

    Setting goals is the easy part -- but sticking with... Read More

    Nurturing Your Soul

    Number Yourself: Count yourself as an important individual. You are... Read More

    How to Make More Time For Your Life

    Do you wish you could work less and play more?... Read More

    Just Remind Yourself

    This is one more article on "Organizing and Enjoying Your... Read More

    31 Ways to Get An Extra Hour Out of Each Day

    How can you get an extra hour out of each... Read More

    Taking Time Out to Play - Summertime and the Living is Easy

    As the song goes, this is the time to relax,... Read More

    Hey, Free Agent, Did You Eat Your Breakfast Today?

    And when you finally sat down to eat breakfast, was... Read More

    Expand Your Time

    In our time-crazed society, lots of time is what most... Read More

    3 Ways To Do More With Less Time

    We live in a world where more is expected of... Read More

    Managing Worry: Productivity Tips for High Achievers Who Worry

    Are you a worrier? Do you frequently spend time and... Read More

    The Keepers of Time

    I give presentations on organizational skill building as it relates... Read More

    Put a Couple of Elephants on Your Plate

    How do you eat two elephants? The same way you... Read More

    Avoid 7 Time and Life-Robbing Mistakes and See Your Productivity Soar

    41 practical and quick ways to get on top of... Read More

    Procrastination. Id love to but...

    When a good friend asked me to contribute a little... Read More

    Save Yourself Hours of Time in One Easy Step

    If you have spent any time at all working at... Read More

    Let Someone Else Do It

    When you decide to become self-employed, you automatically become the... Read More

    How Much Is Poor Time Management Costing You?

    * If you were paying you to prioritise emails over... Read More

    Focus on One Thing at a Time to Get the Job Done

    All too often we can feel overwhelmed by the amount... Read More

    Tips to Save One Hour Per Day

    At Home? Keep related items together, for example the coffee... Read More

    A Time-Saving Programming Tactic that Doesn?t Work

    Let's say that you have a software project that's under... Read More

    Self Improvement and Prioritising

    The ability to be able to set priorities and deal... Read More