Photo by Arnel Hasanovic on UnsplashMultitasking? Used to be a fad but now, according to this New York Times article, it could be related to memory loss.
Some people are natural born multitaskers while others just can’t handle doing several things at once. And that’s okay but do you know that it’s easy to be very busy doing nothing. Huh? Yes.
You can be very busy doing things that aren’t producing results. These days many things are vying for our attention, from gadgets to several projects to family to everything. How do you avoid the busy trap without failing?
What is the busy trap?
Here’s an example:
Clarisse is extremely busy and doesn’t even have time for herself. Every day, she’s pulled between several projects. 30% of those projects don’t bring her money in anyway but she enjoys them and is satisfied because it’s her way of giving back to society. 60% of her projects are very demanding, take up a lot of her time with zero income.
Hence, she’s always complaining about how she needs to change, how she needs to make money to be able to live and enjoy her life. The remainder 10% is the dollar maker, but somehow, it’s placed in the back burner. Whenever she tries to focus on this one, she’s worn out because she’s already exhausted from the unsatisfactory non-income-bearing tasks.
Are you in a similar situation?
Too many things are using up your time yet the one thing that you should focus on that will bring you good money, has been left alone to rust. This makes your heart ache and perhaps, makes you feel worthless. Am I talking to you?
Time management and setting priorities – that’s the key.
Why focus, chase after and sometimes even be insulted for $50 per day (if that), when you could focus, strategize and chase after $500 daily (and you know you can get it)!
That’s one lesson I have learned too – to live my best life now by focusing more on high- value tasks that bring me closer to my goal than low-value tasks that sap my energy and take me nowhere.
Allocate your time strategically and set boundaries. It pays to have a ‘Do Not Do’ list – that is, a list of things that you will not spend your time on like reading “bad news” on the Internet all day.
I know that people have busy schedules with many things to do but you can avoid the busy trap by focusing on what matters most. Know thyself and don’t start what you can’t finish. Leave some tasks for others to do.
- Prioritize.
- Learn to say ‘No.’
- Delegate (yes, yes, yes).
- Focus.
*Article updated in 2022
Belinda is an award winning thought leader on mindset, global speaker, privacy and cybersecurity professional, AI governance leader, 5X author, executive coach and strategist. Through consulting, conference keynotes, and corporate trainings, she helps individuals to achieve goals, and make maximum impact in their spheres of influence.
