Are you TOO relaxed?

I learn so much when I have a really busy week. Several meetings, a Church website workshop, a large marketing plan presentation, a TV shoot, and my family who were away for a couple of weeks, arrived home in the middle of it all. Oh, and I decided to gut and rebuild our master closet before my family flew in. I know, probably a crazy decision.

Over the years I’ve realized a central truth about getting work done: If you’re busy, you do more work.

It seems almost ridiculous to hear and say. But if I’m not that busy, I tend to relax into the lighter pace and I don’t get much done.

So what does that mean to you or me? There’s 3 basic truths:

1. If you find yourself in a lull, try to add structure to your days and take on more projects. I think it’s the stress of making sure I’m setting incremental goals and utilizing the entire day’s hours. When I know I have to put my head down and get the work done, I tend to do more work overall.
2. If you’ve been in a lull for a while; you’re not doing all you can. In fact, you’re probably not doing your best work either. You need to jerk yourself out of this funk, create additional projects, take on more responsibilities, or even clean/declutter/organize every space you have. Just to make yourself busy. And make sure someone holds you accountable to getting it done.
3. If you need someone to help you with a huge project, use a busy person. Often, when we’re looking for someone to help us, we look for someone who’s not doing anything. I think this can be a mistake. Busy people will be in a rhythm to get the stuff done. When you give a task to a busy person, they’re more apt to meet deadlines and do a better job.

We’ve been in a “down” time lately (at church, work, economy, etc). I think the average person has settled into a relaxed lifestyle and this slump has exaggerated the “down” productivity. So, let’s get busy! There’s so much that can be done. And you’ll end up getting more done. Better. Take the challenge with me!