How to Break Free from Busyness

Stop feeding the busyness monster once and for all.

How busy are you these days? Are you pegging the crazy busy meter? It’s okay to be honest with yourself. After all, you’re not alone.

This hyper prevalence of busyness and being overwhelmed in our culture seems to be largely self-induced. I know that’s tough to accept but you should at least consider the possibility.

The good thing is that you can build your self-awareness around the most common causes of busyness and overwhelm.

If you’re finding yourself too busy to have a life, read on my friend. We’ll dive in together so you can identify some of the forces that may be driving you to the brink.

So, what has been your experience lately? Do you still struggle with busyness? Does life feel like a continuous uphill climb with no rest or end in sight?

Being Sisyphus is not a good approach to life.

I recently read an article by minimalism expert, Joshua Becker. In it, he explains 9 Lies that Keep Our Schedules Overwhelmed, which you may have guessed is also the title. Funny how that works. 

There’s a link to it in the “p.s.” below if you want to check it out. Anyway, it got me thinking again about my own busy stretches, what I missed out on, and what was driving my busyness at the time.

Missing out on what matters most to us is entirely the point here. Busyness makes us say no to family, friends, moments in life, our health, our dreams, you name it. All because… 

Faster! Faster! We’ve gotta go faster!

Nearly every article I’ve read on busyness suggests the speed of the world is getting faster. Big surprise. Right? It’s because our so-called “progress” as humans has been getting faster for a very long time. So, we respond by thinking we must keep up no matter what.

The internet bears much of the blame along with the profit-obsessed greedy bastards pressing down from the top, screaming more-more-more. So, we respond with more go-go-go.

Then we think we always need to respond now-now-now! Because that’s what we think they always want. Well, because they usually do. 

But you can’t just blame your boss.

It’s everyone else too! The expectations and demands of others drive your busyness when you reactively give in and just say yes. The important reality to remember is that you always have a choice. Are you making your own decisions about what you take on or do you allow others to take advantage and lay it on you?  

And then we had to go and introduce “artificial intelligence” into the mix. For what? To augment our human intelligence? Turns out we might not have a lot to augment. So, worry not about AI, my friend. It too, will add to the busyness.

You know what? It’s a trap…

… a trap of trying to live up to expectations. Expectations to do more. To achieve more. To have more.

Real. Perceived. Or simply imagined.

First, recognize that busyness is an ego thing. We’re constantly attempting to prove our worth and value to others. “Hey, look at me. I’m so busy. Do you think I’m as important as I think I am?”

Plus, we’ve often convinced ourselves that we’re the only ones who can do something. The truth is rather than delegating a task or accepting some help, we simply won’t let go.

I’m not sure bragging about how busy you are gives off the impression you think it does.” —Joshua Becker, becoming minimalist.com

The quote above is from a social media meme of his. It really drives home the misconception that people around us will think we must be super important if we’re always so busy.

Does accomplishing more result in greater respect? Other people likely have no idea why you’re so busy—if they even notice. They’re too busy with their own busyness.

What if this were the goal instead, What if…

We’re not in a race to check off as many boxes as we possibly can before we are out of time. Instead, we have the chance to use the time to create moments that matter. Because they connect us, because they open doors, because the moments, added up, create a life.”—Seth Godin

Money, stuff, and happiness… another big lie.

More money and more possessions will not bring happiness. Yet we never have enough to satisfy our desire for more. 

Remember the bumper sticker that said, “He who dies with the most toys wins?” I think it’s safe to say there haven’t been any winners in this game yet.

So what? Well, here’s the thing—we’re way too willing to trade our precious time on planet Earth for more wealth in place of moments that matter more.

It’s incredibly easy to get caught up in an activity trap, in the busy-ness of life, to work harder and harder at climbing the ladder of success only to discover it’s leaning against the wrong wall. It is possible to be busy—very busy—without being very effective.” — Stephen Covey

So, stop feeding the monster once and for all. Then, focus on the parts of life that matter most to you.

Be untucked.

p.s. Curious about the “9 Lies…”? I’ve written about some of them above—you can check out the list here.

p.p. s. Oh… one last thing, would you take a sec and share this post with a friend? Thanks, I really appreciate it!

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