I was at a party the other night.

I met a bunch of people.

With nearly everyone I met, when I asked how things are going, their immediate answer was “BUSY,  so very BUSY!”

I usually responded in the same way, and saw that we all got the same social comfort of being part of a collective busy-ness.

When I woke up the next morning, it hit me.

I will no longer use the answer that “I’m so BUSY.”  I recommitted myself to moving away from being busy, and move toward ALWAYS doing important, game-changing work.

In my line of work, things that are important are:

  • Creating a new blog post
  • Writing a new book
  • Coaching a client
  • Creating and improving upon a coaching skill
  • Listening to a potential new client
  • Reading a great book
  • Meditating
  • Pondering a new idea
  • Journaling ideas
  • Planning my business
  • Planning my life

Of course, in my “life,” there are a bunch of other things that are important, like loving God, loving my wife and my children, taking care of my health, and being a good guy.

What I’ve noticed is that it is much easier to get caught up in being “busy,” and even taking pride in the busy-ness, and as a result, spending less time on the “important” stuff in my list above.  I know, without a doubt, that my growth and success are a function of doing more and more of the list of “important” things, and not letting the “busy” stuff (urgent and not important things) steal my time and energy.

The “busy” things are endless, and include:

  • Answering emails
  • Answering phone calls
  • Responding to texts, Facebook posts, tweets, LinkedIn In-Mails, and on and on
  • Going to meetings
  • Being overextended with non-essential commitments
  • Gossiping
  • Complaining
  • Worrying

I have decided to change my vocabulary.  When someone asks me how I’m doing, my answer will be (instead of  saying “I’m so busy”), I will say….“I’m fantastic.  I’m working on some really cool projects.  How about you?”

I think that by changing my vocabulary, I’ll encourage myself to spend more of my time actually doing “really cool projects,” and less of my time being “busy.”

I’d love to hear your thoughts!

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