6 Ways to Go from Booked & Busy to Impactful & Rested
A few years ago, I remember reading highlights from a study titled Conspicuous Consumption of Time: When Busyness and Lack of Leisure Time Become a Status Symbol. I immediately recalled all of the situations and conversations that I had with people who appeared to be booked and busy, yet not getting much accomplished. I used to wonder why it took some really smart, able-bodied, sophisticated people an obscenely long time to perform a task that, in reality, did not take that long to do. I eventually learned that many of them were full of malarkey. I never enjoyed nor currently enjoy the performative nature of work. Mostly because I like to get the job done so that I can move on to doing something that I enjoy or just relax!
When I was in my 20s, I worked at one of the “big four” accounting firms and had a co-worker who used to say that she wanted to get her work done efficiently and run errands early because she was lazy! I will never forget that sentiment because I actually believe, to this day, that she is the complete opposite of lazy and is thriving in her career. But her philosophy always resonated with me and I have taken it along my career journey. Rarely have I worked in a job where I felt compelled to stay late every night or work weekends so that I can prove my commitment to my supervisor. Now, I have worked late nights and weekends when I was on a deadline, attending an event or launching a new initiative to get it done, but I never made a daily habit of it. We should never be shamed or have our commitments questioned because of the “appearance” of being busy. We should be measured on the quality and output of our work.
While once upon a time, the US culture valued leisure time as a symbol of wealth and status, our culture has devolved into valuing the perception of busyness, the grind or the hustle as a barometer for success. As a leader, putting pressure on employees to be available at your every whim is extremely toxic! Toxic because most people don't have the bandwidth to be slammed all the time, especially in the knowledge economy, which is the lane in which many of my peers operate. People need a separation from work to get on with their daily lives, family, hobbies, etc.
There’s a difference between being busy because you have a lot of work to do than being busy because you think that doing every little thing makes you seem more committed or that you are better at your work. Does that make sense? Most of the people that humblebrag about being busy, in my experience, are the least effective people when it comes to producing results. When you are too busy to respond to an email that YOU send requesting the availability of others to meet or you are too busy to respond to feedback that is needed to advance your business, project or initiative, your booked and busy is not an inspirational Instagram post! How can you be effective or truly impactful if you are running here, there and everywhere? Seriously?
The pandemic has exposed what a lot of people and organizations have been saying for quite some time - the 8 hour work day is defunct; technology, if fully utilized, makes us more efficient; and we should be spending more time enjoying life. It is a tremendous privilege to be a part of the knowledge economy where you are valued for your ideas, rather than the strength or ability to churn out a physical product. Work that requires labor is not valued any less, in my opinion, it just requires a different skill set. In fact, us knowledge workers can learn a lot from some companies that are deliberate about the way that they care for their employees as well as maximize efficiency of their output. Sometimes, I think that I should have worked in manufacturing because I am obsessed with process improvements, efficiency and productivity. But that’s another conversation for another day.
So what do you do if you want to reclaim your time; perpetuate the “booked and busy” life but aren’t getting many things accomplished; or want to get out of the rat race of performative work so that you can live more fully? I have a few ideas that you probably already know, but need a friendly reminder about:
Say No. You don’t have to take every opportunity or entertain every person that comes your way. Some things and people are not a good fit and there’s no need to waste your time on something that isn’t going to help you produce the results you need.
Set Realistic Goals. Rome was not built in a day and having a big vision for what you want to accomplish doesn’t mean that you have to do everything at once. Break down your goal into sizable, digestible chunks.
Create A “To Do” List. This is actually controversial to some people that don’t believe a “to do” list is helpful. I often find myself writing a list that is longer than I can accomplish within a specific period of time, but it helps me figure out what I need to prioritize. Usually I get the top priorities accomplished and carry over the things that I didn’t complete into my next list. Sometimes I have a daily list and sometimes I have a weekly list, depending on what’s going on. Realistically, I can focus on 2-3 big tasks a day along with little tasks like responding to emails and such.
Schedule Time For Self-Care. For the booked and busy, it is important to be intentional about taking breaks. Since I work full-time and have a side hustle, there are times when I have to schedule time to take a break, hang out with friends or maybe take a nap. I LOVE and need a good weekend nap to feel recharged and take on a new week!
Schedule Time In Blocks. If I have to write something or perform data analysis, I cannot squeeze a paragraph here and there between meetings. I have to block out at least 2 hours at a time to get into a groove. As a knowledge worker, it is extremely important to schedule time for focused work where you aren’t responding to emails, phone calls or scheduling meetings.
Delegate or Prioritize. If you have staff that has the bandwidth, delegate some of the tasks you aren’t able to complete. Not everyone is in a position to delegate work to a team or wants to burnout their own staff, so it’s important to put things in a parking lot if they are not mission critical to what you are trying to accomplish. I don’t have a team, at this point, so there are many things that I put in the parking lot because, while they are nice to do, they are not going to have an immediate impact on my bottom line.
If you need tools for creating a more balanced life, sign up for the SassyChicGeek newsletter, check out some of productivity tools or contact me for a consultation at info@sassychicgeek.com. Let’s keep the conversation poppin’! I’d love to know about some of the different ways that your booked and busy life. Share your thoughts in the comments below or connect with SassyChicGeek on social on Instagram and Facebook! SassyChicGeek gets the conversation poppin’ to celebrate and advance women who dare to show up for ourselves, lead with impact and create social change. Check out the Journey to Sasstopia Toolkit to see some of the many ways that we can customize an experience for you or your community.