FROM “BUSYNESS” TO “EFFECTIVNESS”

One of the many learnings that I am experiencing from the current challenges that we are facing in the workplace is that a lot of us are feeling a sense of loss of identity and purpose.

If I am not busy, then who am I?

If I am not leading new projects, then who am I?

If I am not solving and fixing things, then who am I?

The usual human doer vs human being dilemma.

Since we spend the majority of our time at work, a lot of who we think we are is attached to our professional identity. So when the rules of the game change and we are no longer meeting the old metrics of success then we are faced with these questions: How do I prove myself and others that I am worthy, competent, and enough?

We have fallen into the trap of thinking that our worth is attached to the value and impact that we are constantly generating. We think that in order to be and earn personal and professional respect we must constantly meet metrics of success. This is the story we tell ourselves to keep ourselves busy.

Here are some of the associations I get from my clients when I ask them what is motivating and driving their state of busyness :

To me being busy means:

I am a hard worker
I am successful
I am productive
I am an achiever
I am important

The truth is that being busy does not mean you are being productive or efficient.

In fact, if a lot of your busyness is driven by the need of feeling important and needed then that can get in the way of you being strategic and smart in the way you approach your day-to-day at work.

Here are a few recommendations to start moving from busyness to effectiveness:

Plan your day ahead: Identify your key priorities
Schedule actions and tasks that are priority-oriented.
Become intentional about your actions: why is this important and what’s in it for you.
Manage your attention and qualify your thoughts: Is this thought relevant, important to follow up or a distraction?
Anticipate and minimize distractions.
Observe when the need of feeling important is present and breathe through the impulse of engaging in actions that are not priority and purpose-driven.
Slow down and monotask. Don’t multitask (switch-task).

When you do things intentionally and with purpose life starts making meaning.

Being busy and getting things on your plate because you want to feel relevant will only lead you to inefficiencies, lack of accuracy/excellency, and emptiness.

Connect with your intentions and the value behind your purpose.

Watch the magic happen.

“ No amount of Human Doing defines you as Human Being”

-Ivanna Casado-FRO