Too Busy to Read This Post? (BS!!)

“I’m soooo busy!” has become way too common a phrase.

I’m guilty of using it myself at times.

Although sometimes life and business seem out of control and overwhelming, we can still choose how we spend our waking hours. We can plan, ask for help and delegate, eliminate tasks that make no sense, and set priorities.

Last year, I decided to free-up time for exercise, writing, more sleep, volunteering, and a better social life. I’m doing pretty well on all counts.

Like a closet, where you have to take stuff out to make room for this season’s apparel, your life just needs to be better compartmentalized and organized. You simply have to look long and hard at your life and do these five things:

1. Make short- and long-term plans and mini-goals
2. Set priorities
3. Learn how to say no or not now (see below)
4. Move faster (but be careful you don’t sacrifice quality)
5. Get the right help and utilize it well

Other suggestions? Be sure to comment and add them below.

Wearing your busy-ness on like a badge of honor may sound impressive, but wouldn’t you rather have a life?

Too bad no one has invented a Container Store for cerebral organization, but here’s some fun and helpful stuff:

	Quotes about being busy (including one from Socrates, who wasn’t too busy to say brilliant things). And, on a lighter note, some busy e-cards.
	How to hire the right people to make your life easier.
	21 ways to “give good no,” without pissing people off. (And one of my favorite New Yorker cartoons of all time, related to the topic.)
	How we actually spend our lives. Are you sure you can’t find an hour in there somewhere? And here’s a great article from the New York Times about the “busy trap!”