How many times a day do you hear someone say, “I’m so busy” when you ask them how they’re doing? Lately, I’ve not only realized how frequently I hear that response, but also how many times I say that to others what I’m asked the same question. It’s like we’ve all learned somewhere along the way in life that we seem more valuable, more important, when we tell people how busy we are, how much we have going on, and, how much we have to do, and how much we’re getting done. We hear each other complain about how busy we all are, but if we listen closely I think we can detect some pride in the sharing of our busy. We’re ready for the question well before anyone asks it. We have our laundry list of things ready to share, don’t we?

It’s made me start thinking about what’s underneath my busy life and yours. Busy at work. Busy at home. Busy during the week. Busy all weekend. We are all busy managing our busyness. And days become weeks and weeks become years. Are we any closer to where we want to be in all of our busyness? Or the bigger question is are we even clear on where we want to go? And if we’re not, how will we ever know if we got there?  

It’s rare for any of us not to be pushing forward at a pace well over the speed limit to achieve our version of busy everyday. And in many cases busy doesn’t equal productive. I wonder if our busy is keeping us from our best life? Don’t get me wrong, I love my to do list. Both my written one and the one that plays on repeat in my head. But sometimes I think I can get so caught up in wanting to cross something off the list that I miss something important right in front of me. You see, that to do list, mine anyway, doesn’t include my goals, priorities, values, and dreams. Those things that are of far greater significance than my daily to do’s that get the majority of my focus. Things like 

-wanting a closer relationship with God

-my desire to love bigger in both words and actions and be the best spouse and mom that I can be

-taking better care of my myself in an effort to have a more healthy mind and body

– investing more in my relationships with my family and friends

– to better understand my unique giftings and use them more on a daily basis
-to give back and be a blessing to others

-pursuing my dream of having more freedom and flexibility to do what I love

-to coach, motivate and encourage others to pursue their personal and professional goals and dreams.

I love this quote from Stephen Covey- “The key is NOT to prioritize what’s on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities.” That’s definitely a shift in thinking for some of us (myself included). And the choice really is ours to make.

What about you? Can you detect times when you’ve been proud to share with others just how busy you really are? Is your busy life keeping you from your best life? Are there areas where you could benefit from slowing down and getting more clear about scheduling time for your priorities?