Have you noticed how busy people are today? It’s like busyness is perceived as success… as if being busy equals actually getting things done.
I think in today’s world, we tend to glorify busyness. Just look around you. Think about how many times a day you hear others say, “Gosh, I’m so busy today!” or “Wow, what a busy week!” How many times do you feel like you’re running around in circles, jumping from one task to another, all the while, taking phone calls, texting and answering emails?
We teach our kids to be busy, between homework and soccer and baseball and piano lessons and dance and gymnastics and church and chores. You hand them a Pop Tart and rush them out the door to school early in the morning, then pick them up after school and race from one activity to the next and finally grabbing dinner from a drive-thru somewhere in there. By the time you get home in the evening, everyone is wiped-out and grouchy, then it’s time for bed. (Sleep, wake up, repeat.)
We are busy at work and busy at home. We are busy in the car while driving, busy at the dinner table… we’re even busy while we’re on the toilet! We are busy 24/7.
What does it feel like to be busy? Your heart is beating fast, you may be short of breath and you feel like you just can’t move fast enough. You’re trying to keep up with a to-do list growing faster than you’re marking things off. You’re working 60 hours a week just so you don’t get any further behind than you already are.
There’s something I learned years ago, and I’m telling you, I live by this truth: You do not get paid for the time you put in, but for the results you produce. When you produce results, you raise your value, which means you raise your pay.
But it seems like most people today are so busy, they aren’t actually producing results. And if we’re not producing results – at home, at school, at work, at church – we’re wasting time, energy and money. Busyness DOES produce something: stress, burnout, no fun, poor relationships and bad health. We can be busy, or we can be productive. One produces results, and one produces excuses. (When’s the last time you heard – or even said – “I can’t, I’m busy?”)
It’s so easy to fill hours with non-productive things. It’s easy to over-complicate things and create more work for ourselves.
That’s why it’s so important to identify and eliminate the “nonsense” things on your list. What is on your to-do list not benefiting you, your business, your career, your health or your family? What unnecessary steps can you eliminate from your processes to streamline and simplify? What distractions are in your life causing your focus to be scattered? All of these things lead to busyness, not productivity.
This is so NOT about just making more money, though that’s part of it. This is about eliminating stress, having more fun, setting the right example for your children, protecting your health and accomplishing your goals.
It’s easy to fall into a busyness rut and stop thinking about what you’re doing and whether or not you’re producing results. But today, let’s stop and look at this. Today, do not just mindlessly go through your day. Instead, pay attention to what you’re doing and look at the results you’re getting. The results will tell you where your focus should be!
The majority of the population runs around like a chicken with its head cut off, always doing something, but never producing consistent results. But you are not supposed to be one of them. How do I know that? Because you are reading this message right now and it’s time for you to step up to take control of your time.
When you do this, you will make more money, have less stress, have more time to spend with your friends and family, and finally be able to accomplish the goals you have continued to put off because you’ve just been “too busy” to do anything about them. My friend, it’s time to stop glorifying “busy” and start producing results!
Who do you know that needs to read this today? Go ahead and pass this link to your friends, family and coworkers, or even print it out for them. Can you imagine if your entire family or company was focused on producing results instead of just being busy all the time? What a different environment that would be! Be sure to tell me the results you produce below.
And be sure to tune in for The Dani Johnson Show today for more wisdom, tips and strategies to improve your life! You can find the show on your TV and radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right here on our website.
In great faith,
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If you’re someone who says, “Hey, I AM doing better but how do I get MORE!?” Today, just sit there a moment and recognize where you truly ARE: “Wow! Look how far I’ve come!”…then CELEBRATE it!
The difference between people who have debt, living paycheck-to-paycheck and those who are debt-free or are banking money into their savings every month, is not how much money they make. It has everything to do with their mindset and how they view money.
Everyone’s definition of what success looks like is different! And maybe you’ve been on this journey and never stopped to think about success means or looks like for you, but you just KNOW there is more to life than what you’re doing now.
