How to stop feeling like you're busy all the time

I’m the byproduct of hardworking immigrant parents, so I take immense pride in how I represent myself through my work. I have always been proud of my ability to manage several projects at once. In truth, staking so much personal value and self-worth on my job has led me to be constantly—and feel—busy.

But I went through one particularly busy period that sparked a shift in my outlook. It started when I joined my company’s field marketing team. I served as what my boss at the time called “the CMO” for the central U.S. region. I worked hand in hand with our enterprise sales team to execute various demand generation, field marketing, and executive programs. I was responsible for developing the strategy, allocating the budget, and implementing the programs while ensuring that the sales and marketing teams stayed aligned. To say that it’s a big undertaking would be an understatement.

At one point, I found myself, barely 40 years old, sick in a Minneapolis hotel room from a stress-induced case of shingles. Other people’s wake-up calls may be much more dramatic or life-threatening, but this self-inflicted pain showed me that I had to change how much time and energy I invest in my work and in my well-being. I knew that the most significant shift I would need to make would be to recalibrate my mind away from “busyness” and stress. Here are the changes that worked for me.

Practicing gratitude has been transformative for me. Looking for sources of appreciation lets me reframe my daily experiences as gifts and opportunities, rather than things that happened to me. Research shows that gratitude practice can improve our psychological well-being, happiness, and physical health (including inoculating against shingles, I hope).

Now, I start my day by writing down three things I’m grateful for and three elements that I anticipate will make my day great. Each time, I find new people, pleasures, and moments to note. Expanding my view of gratitude forces me to observe my blessings intentionally and helps me appreciate life’s smaller joys. That might be a quick turnaround on a project or a stranger who holds the elevator so I can make it on time to catch the train home.

It’s those little moments that make life great and boost morale, and acknowledging them creates a balanced perspective.

When things seem overwhelming and out of control, I begin my “break-it-down method.” If I’m facing complicated projects, I try and break them down into microsteps so I can get started. Finishing each project might require 50 steps, but my first step is writing down all the components I’ll need for completion. And then I’ll map out the next project the same way. (Color-coding is optional on these maps, but you can guess where I stand.)

Source: Fastcompany.com

Powered by NewsAPI.org

Keywords:

Emotion • Parent • Pride • Employment • Pride • Psychological projection • Truth • Value (ethics) • Self-esteem • Employment • Feeling • Field marketing • Demand generation • Field marketing • Budget • Sales • Minneapolis • Shingles • Pain • Time • Well-being • Mind • Stress (biology) • Gratitude • Research • Gratitude • Happiness • Health • Go ahead, make my day •