Three Ways to Become Less Busy

Ah, modern technology. We typically pride ourselves on multitasking, being productive and achieving more but at what cost? A post on Harvard Business Review inspired us to stop and smell the roses. Greg McKeown writes, "Not only are we addicted to the drug of more, we are pushers too. In the race to get our children into 'a good college' we have added absurd amounts of homework, sports, clubs, dance performances and ad infinitum extracurricular activities. And with them, busyness, sleep deprivation and stress." In his post, he provides several reasons to become less busy. Pointing out the "more bubble" will burst, we'll end up feeling our time on this planet has been squandered doing things that haven't mattered. He adds: "A hundred years from now, when people look back at this period, they will marvel at the stupidity of it all: the stress, the motion sickness, and the self-neglect we put ourselves through." Here are his tips for living a life that matters... 1. Rest well to excel. Want to exceed? As in truly catapult your life, not just your career, to robust vibrancy? Get more sleep. He writes, "What few people realize is that the second most highly correlated factor distinguishing the good from the great is how much they sleep." 2. Add expiration dates on new activities. That's right, go ahead and give yourself a deadline. His advice? The next time you're immersed in enjoying an event, savor it. Capture the memory and then move on. 3. Say no to a good opportunity every week. You may get inundated with requests, say yes to too many of them but instead of accepting an invite just because you were asked, feel empowered to turn it down. Although it's "counterintuitive to say no to good opportunities," if you don't turn at least some down, then you won't have time or energy to invest yourself in something that really matters.

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Three Ways to Become Less Busy

Vicki Salemi

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Vicki Salemi