You're Not Actually Busy

[👋 ](=) Hi! I hope you enjoyed my email yesterday on the power of perspective. Today, I’d like to say a few words on the busy myth. I’m sure you’ve come across people who always appear to be super-busy. Think about some of your busy colleagues. As soon as they come into the office, they plunge into their work by checking their emails and updating spreadsheets. And, their haste doesn’t stop there, as when the clock strikes 10am - they’re off to their first (but certainly not last!) meeting of the day. They’re so fixated with their work that they don’t have time for friendly conversations- let alone for taking a proper lunch break (they prefer to eat their sandwiches at their desk, so they don’t have to stop working). The problem with all this busyness is… it’s unnecessary! That’s right. These busy people are only busy because they don’t know how to utilize the twin power of time management and delegation. Let’s look at time management first. Continuing the example of your busy colleague, I’m guessing they have less than ideal time management skills. Why do I say this? Well, it’s clear from their gung-ho approach to work that they don’t take the relevant time-out at the start of the day or at lunchtime to assess their work. If they did, they’d be able to sort their tasks into priority and work on the important stuff first. This would lead them to most likely skip checking their emails first thing, but instead, to put their early-morning efforts into something more productive, such as creating a PowerPoint presentation for a key meeting. Time management can be so effective that a previously ‘manic’ worker can achieve much more in their day, even though they appear calm and unstressed. The other missing skill your busy colleague undoubtedly has, is the ability to delegate. Overly busy people have a tendency to want to do everything themselves. They don’t feel comfortable sharing their work or asking others to help them. Coming backing to the busy colleague… Although they’re in a management position, they rarely (if ever) pass any of their tasks and projects to their team. This could be due to a subconscious need to maintain power and control, or it could be that they’ve simply never learned the art of delegation! Luckily, delegation is an easy skill to acquire. And, like all skills, the more you do it, the better you become at it. The trick is to simply get started. That’s right--stop trying to do everything yourself and simply task it off to someone else. This may be asking a colleague to help you out with a project, or ordering take out instead of cooking dinner one evening--perhaps it’s hiring a neighbor kid to mow the lawn or walk your dog. Whether at work or at home, look at the tasks that fill up your “to do” list, and consider which ones you can delegate to someone else, Not only will delegating save you time, it will also save you the stress of planning and the energy of doing. You’ll find by properly delegating tasks, you’ll be a lot less busy. I could say a lot more about time management and delegation, but I like to keep my daily emails short and to the point. However, I’d definitely encourage you to click through to the articles below if you’d like to dive deeper into achieving more by doing less. [How to Stop Multitasking and Become Way More Productive]() [17 Ways Deep Work Will Help Wipe Out Modern Distractions and Refocus](=) What do you think? Is "being busy" really a myth? [Let me know your thoughts!!](=) Cheers! - Leon [Facebook]( [Twitter](=) [Pinterest]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. [Unsubscribe]( [Terms of Service]( | [Privacy Policy]() 113 Cherry St #92768, Seattle, WA 98104-2205