Queen of Busy-ness.

Confession time. I am addicted to being busy. I have lists of things to do. I have lists of lists. There are lists that refer to other lists so if I finish the first list I can start the secondary, tertiary, and quartenary lists. I try to do as many “things” as I can every. single. day. And at the end of most days I wonder what I did all day. Busy-ness. That is all it is. And at the end of the day I have rarely prioritized the most important things. But man, oh man, have I filled the time. Busy.

And yes, there are some things that really do need to happen, like cooking for the family and some basic house cleaning and some paperwork for the kids’ schools or taxes or paying bills. But let’s be honest (real confession time now), the busy stuff can fill a day or a week or months and at the end of the year I have not done the things I set out to do (the things I really want to do) because “I was too busy.” But really, what I did, was I filled the time with busy tasks to avoid the hard work.

Busy-ness is a great avoidance technique.

I do not have to take a risk and write that book I want to write if I’m busy weeding outside. I might be too busy cleaning bathrooms to set up the new blog I have been dreaming about. Instead of sketching out a series of pictures too print I am busy sorting the kids’ clothes. It’s definitely not risky to get busy cleaning the garage, but it is scary to talk with printers and figure out how to publish a book.

So there it is, busy-ness, lists and lists of to-dos, never-ending tasks around the house or for life in general – they are all excellent for avoiding the work I keep talking about and dreaming about, but not doing. Because, busy-ness is not risky or scary. No one is going to laugh at me for washing windows. No one is going to write a bad review of how I do laundry. No one is going to buy my organized notebook for recipes. But all of that stuff sure keeps me busy. And at the end of the day, I am no further along.

So, if I were my own best friend I would tell myself to start prioritizing the things I really really want to do. Take the scary steps forward and take a few huge steps back from the lists and the busy-ness. Make room for the important things. Push busy-ness on the back burner and do the things you really want to do.

If you have been “too busy” like me I encourage you to take a step back from busy and make the time for the things you want in life.