Busy-ness

~~Today Maile posted a quote on her blog, Daily Relish;
"Being busy is just another form of laziness." Timothy Ferriss
Ouch! That one stung a little. Which is a good thing because it makes you stop and think "why?"
~~In our society today we wear "busy-ness" like a badge of honor. When was the last time you replied, "We've been really busy" to someone's "How have you been doing?" I know I tend to say that a lot.
~~The truth is, we are busy. But that's not necessasarily a good thing. I've been questioning how often I use busy-ness to keep myself from having to face my fears or do something that's difficult. When I'm nervous about my artwork or myself, I suddenly find myself very busy. Maggie, (who is one of the most inspiring artist moms I know) has said, "When someone tells me they don't have time to do something, I don't believe them - I believe they don't have the motivation yet to do whatever that something is. If you want something, you make time."
~~We all have "to-do lists" that are a mile long. And the things on our lists aren't bad. A lot of them are very necessary. But how often are we doing tasks just to keep our minds busy? After all, if we keep going from sun-up to sun-down then we can't be accused of being lazy, right? But I've had those days where I worked hard all day and yet, when evening came, I was still left with that quiet little nagging feeling inside. My conscience was telling me that my busy-ness was just an avoidance technique.
~~So what can we do to stop the busy cycle; to catch ourselves on the avoidance track? Here are a few ideas:
***Journal: If you've read The Artist's Way, then you're familiar with the term "Morning Pages." Morning pages are really just a form of journaling. I have a notebook that I use to spill out my thoughts. I've found that it helps so much to empty out all the things swarming around in my mind. It usually ends up being a mixture of thoughts, prayers, and lists. When I'm completely honest with myself on the paper, I can usually figure out what I'm avoiding.
***Organize: I'm finding that it's easier to prioritize when you're organized. Several years ago I found Flylady. I'm sure many of you are familiar with her. And even though I don't subscribe to the email notices anymore, I still follow a Flylady plan for my week. I try to do certain tasks on the same day each week; like Mondays are mopping/vacuuming, Tuesday is bathroom, etc. I'm trying to learn to get those necessary tasks done quickly and efficiently so that I will have time for the more important things. The good thing about organizing your tasks it that once you've finished the tasks for the day, you know you're done. I don't have to worry about bookwork on Monday because I know that I'll get to it on Thursday. Rose just had a great post on this. It sounds like she does a much better job than I do of putting her cleaning on "auto-pilot." Pretty inspiring.
***Schedule: On the same sort of note, is scheduling. Maggie recently mentioned that she bought a notebook to help her keep track of her days. It's something that I'm going to be trying. I bought a thin three-ring binder and filled it with loose-leaf paper. I labeled the top of each sheet with the day of the week and date. I pulled out my calendar and started looking at up-coming events and goals that I have. For example, the State Fair is coming up and I would like to enter some artwork. My plan is to break down tasks into smaller steps and then write them in on specific days in my notebook. That way, instead of saying, "I have to get my piece finished before the State Fair," I can break it into smaller, weekly goals like "finish the figures this week, " or "get it framed this week." I think this notebook idea will also help me with my big "to-do" lists. If I break them down into a few tasks each day, I won't get so overwhelmed and spend all day trying to get the list finished.
***Pray: This one's important for me. Asking for help. So often I forget to do that; to just stop and take the time to ask God to be in control of my day. I muddle on, trying to go on my own strength. That's when I often find myself avoiding things; when I haven't asked for the strength I need to face my fears.
***And....as Nike says, "Just Do It": I know it's an advertising slogan, but I still like it. So many times I know exactly what I'm putting off; what I'm covering with my busy-ness. Sometimes the best thing to do is to pick one thing and face it head-on. Like today, I had a phone call that I needed to make but I was nervous. I'm no good on the phone. I stumble over my words and feel silly. But I knew that I would never feel good if I kept putting it off. I made the call and it wasn't so bad. And it felt GREAT to face my fear. Pick at least one fear a day and conquer it. If it's a big challenge, set the timer and work for 10 minutes. It will help you to build your faith in yourself.
~~So....does anyone have any ideas to add to the list? I know there are a few of you out there. Don't be shy. I'd love to hear your thoughts.