REDEFINING BUSY

What is busy, and can I redefine this word for myself?

The dictionary states busy as engaged in action, full of activity.  The Urban Dictionary says: an excuse to not hang out with someone. Also, a nice way of saying no – or not on my priority list.  So, which is it?

At the end of the day, the word busy is generally thrown around as a badge of honor.  But when you look at the feelings that often coincide with the term busy, you get a slew of negative feelings associated, like anxious, stressed, frustrated, and overwhelmed.  Being busy is so subjective, and it doesn’t necessarily equal productivity. 

As I have recently embarked on a new and different career path, which is requiring more of my time.  I find that I am having to renegotiate and realign my priorities with my calendar.  Without the calendar, everything that is needing to be done genuinely feels overwhelming and indeed busy, at least in my mind.  However, when I actually block schedule all that needs to be done to stay on task — it all actually appears to be rather manageable — therefore redefining the word busy for me. 

Do I have as much free time as I had before I began my life coaching course, and the two other courses I am taking along side coaching? No. BUT, I do still have time. And it is time that I am unapologetically learning to schedule to aid me along my journey to fulfilling my goals & dreams. 

I have time for my morning routine. I have time to get showered & dressed for the day.  I have time to get classes & projects done. I have time to get housework done. I have time to go out to lunch with the hubby or friends.  I have time to get content created. I have time for an afternoon coffee.  I have time to cook, eat, and clean up dinner. I have time to kill an hour or so in front of the television. I have time for my evening wind down routine.  AND — I still have time for more.  

I have never calendared like this before.  Putting everything down on the calendar is extremely new to me.  And while I still don’t have it all figured out, I have been able to identify kinks that need ironing out week by week, and new ways to evolve the practice and personalize the process.

Most importantly, I am learning to honor the schedule that I create for myself.  The mental work alone required by me to show up for myself & my calendar is next level, no joke. I think I will be getting some coaching done in this area.  

All this to be said, my end goal is NOT to schedule every minute.  My end goal is to establish harmony with work/ school/ life — without feeling overwhelmed by the notion of being elusively busy.  The calendar actually helps put it all into perspective — making it manageable and effective. 

I have also learned to hack my calendar by having everything that can be routine, be routine (as you can see above in my calendar). My sleep time, morning routine, class times, coaching times, content creation times, meal times, house chores & errands, and evening routine are all scheduled to repeat daily and weekly.  Then whatever is new to my “need to get done’ list for the week, gets plugged into the calendar where I think it will fit according to my priority list.  

This style of calendaring is proving to be revolutionary for me.  I love the clarity it provides, the ease of reference it gives, and, can I say just how cool it is that I can integrate my brand colors into the google calendar process. I can’t believe that I am 48 and I am just now getting this!  Oh well.

*According to the calendar — fun things are to come!