So here goes my confession…I am overwhelmed. Trying to keep up in the crazy word of social media has made me Crazy Busy. I’ve been reading books, blogs, articles, anything to try to make my life more sane. I think I am on the road to recovery because of this amazing book, Crazy Busy.
The book by Dr. Hallowell discuss the craziness in our lives and strategies to help keep us sane. It’s not just social media that makes people Crazy Busy, it is everything. Running the kids to a million activities, volunteering, regular household duties like laundry, cleaning, yard work and work (remember that place – it pays the bills and now requires 10X more of your time than ever before). And somewhere in there you are suppose to have a few minutes to yourself and quiet, quality time with your family. Really!?!
I had a client a few years ago that said to me, “if you can add 4 more hours to my day, I’ll get that done.” I thought she was rude, really she was just hitting that Crazy Busy stage in life. And being Crazy Busy doesn’t make you happy, it makes you grumpy. You long for an hour to yourself where you can curl up with a book or take an hour nap.
So what are we to do? You can’t stop the train called life. But you can implement a few strategies to help take control once again. Am I an expert in this? No way! I have just seen how doing these few things have helped put me in control of my life again. And I am loving it.
Here is what I am doing. Hopefully some of these ideas can help you too.
• Say NO! I am a pleaser, I know that. And saying no is not easy for me to do. But recently I took an inventory of where I was spending my time over a one week period and found a charity I was working with was taking up all my time and making life even crazier for me. So I said NO! I took a step back and wow what a difference it has made. Do I feel less fulfilled? No. Is the charity dying because I am not there, no. I am still doing things to help the charity, just on a different level. And my time has become mine again.
• Limit computer time. This one is a killer and extremely hard to do. If you read the bottom of my e-mail it says, “We work in the studio away from email from 10am-4pm everyday. It may take a little longer for us to respond to messages during those times. If it is important please call our studio at 352-371-9735. Thank you for understanding.” Do I abide by that everyday, no. But it gives me an out so I don’t feel guilt. And honestly I do not have to check my e-mail every 5 minutes anymore.
•Stop multi-tasking. Again, I am not great at this one either, but I am getting better. Stop trying to chat with your best friend on the phone or even better yet, your child’s teacher, while reading e-mail or shopping or anything else. One you are taking 10x as long to get one thing done (be honest, time a weekly project you multi-task and then time it not multi-tasking – you’ll be surprised by the results). Plus, it is rude when you multi-task while on the phone. Someone called me yesterday and interrupted my rhythm, to ask me to hold on while they finished the bite of their sandwich.
There are alot of other tips and tricks in this book that are very good. I am still a bit CrazyBusy, but you can’t tech an old dog new tricks over night. I can honestly say, I feel less frazzled, just by implementing a few ideas. Give it a try and tell me what you think.