“Sorry, I can’t, I’m too busy”

How often do you hear somebody say the phrase “I’m busy”? I think we have a global competition; who is busier, us or the president? To be honest with you I’m so busy right now that I don’t have time to write this article. I’m so busy that I don’t have five minutes to stop and think about life, I’m too busy to notice my family and call my mum for ten minutes. I’m so busy that I don’t have time to meditate, to take Chanel for a walk, to drink water, to have a shit.

On Friday I was on the toilet taking a shit and usually that’s when I read an article or watch Instagram stories. At some point, CYTA called me about an installation that I had pending. I thought at the moment that I was busy but I answered and talked for 6 minutes with the customer service officer who told me that I have to pay my balance of €46,50 so they can transfer my internet. She was a very kind lady.

I never say out loud to people that I’m busy but I act like I’m always busy, and that’s coming from a guy that works 15 hours per day every single day. On Friday lunchtime by 14:00 I had a feeling that I hadn’t done much but in reality I was busy the whole morning. I thought about the things I did; I spoke to a client on the phone for 1 hour, to another client for 30 minutes, answered emails for 1 hour, wrote an article for 2 hours, spoke to my designer for 30 minutes, did a client change for 1 hour, read a chapter from a book for 30 minutes, meditated for 10 minutes, took Chanel for a walk for 15 minutes, had porridge for breakfast for 10 minutes, answered social media messages for 30 minutes, got upset with a client for 30 minutes and sat on the toilet for 15 minutes.

I had a quick lunch with my partner at 14:00 and she was on the phone; checking her emails, speaking on the phone and checking social media. I felt stupid so I took my phone as well and start reading an article and replying to emails. What a great lunch with two people connecting with each other and having a meaningful lunch. Then we wonder why we feel lonely and relationships don’t last. You might say that it happened just this once and it will never happen again, I understand, of course. I just think that it all starts with small details and then it adds up. Of course she is so busy, like she is so busy with her career and every single phone call is important because you know that event that they have is so important right now.

What do we mean subconsciously when we tell others that we are super-busy? We mean that our time is more valuable than the other person’s time.  “Busy” is a default response when somebody asks us how we are doing. In other words; look how important I am. If you say I’m very busy as well the other person will always start telling you that he is very busy because of bla bla bla…

Life is what happens when you are making other plans – John Lennon

Being busy doesn’t mean that we are productive. Being busy is just a fancy word that people use to make themselves look good and important to others. Busy people have tons of goals; productive people have priorities. I used to say YES to everything; a client needs a new marketing campaign next week; YES. A client wants changes on the website tomorrow; YES.

Today, I’m learning to say NO to things that don’t help me achieve the most important goal that I have at the current time.

Every morning I meditate, work on an article, write my goals, achievements, gratitude and my to-be list (to-do-list). For the past two years this has helped me dramatically. When I don’t do them I feel that something is missing. Now I started writing in my to do list the most important priorities that I want to achieve. When something pops up I think about the request carefully and then say NO if it doesn’t help me become a better person OR it will not help our agency or my brand.

The word busy just came to my mind recently. When speaking with people about the conference the majority (90%) always tell me that they are so busy. Somebody told me that they are so busy that they can’t afford to come.

I think we have to take a step back and monitor what are we doing every day that makes us so busy. Mental health is important, very important. Reading books, meeting people, attending great conferences, connecting with our family and friends is important. If we prioritize other people’s demands, then we will never achieve our own demands and goals.

Let’s make time for ourselves, improve ourselves, become better and live a fulfilling life. If we live a busy life, then we are not living a purposeful life and what is the meaning in running around for 50 years saying that we are busy all the time?

Take a step back, think about your purpose in life and make every minute count. Sometimes, somebody might be trying to give us an opportunity, to give us something valuable but we are so damn busy looking at our Instagram stories and creating a perfect Facebook picture. Let’s focus more on creating a meaningful life.

When Sam (my mate) who invited me to the conference in May in Bulgaria told me that it’ was a three-day conference I told him that was very busy with work. He asked me when was the right time for me to go to a conference, when would I have time for myself? Interesting question. That changed everything. I thought about it and said that he had a very good point; I would make time for myself and maybe learn one thing that I could implement. The result; my life completely changed within 72 hours.

Maybe it’s time to pause and realize that life is really happening for us not to us. But then again we are always too damn busy to realize that.

There are Early Bird tickets available for the Think Beyond Conference, where we will speak about purpose and meaning in life. Book your tickets today online or call 22 101935.