In response to everyday greetings like 'How are you?" or "How is life going?", "Busy." seems to be the norm and highly valued, as if not being busy is equivalent to being a loser, someone living a life below standard, with all the negative connotations which are both explicitly and implicitly entertained.
It is an illusion. There is no glorification of busyness. Life is not about cramping everything on your to-do list and checking them at the end of the day with a smile on your face. Busyness means nothing when you are not being productive, when you are not working on tasks / projects that mean to you, when you are just killing time doing other things to look busy, all the while procrastinating on things that might seem intimidating. It is a limiting factor to our potential.
I am a workaholic but I only enjoy being busy when I am doing something that I love. Yes, there are household duties to be done and errands to be run but ultimately it is up to me to decide how busy I want. I find my planner the most valuable tool for schedule and appointment. I even schedule in my down time and try to live up to it. I recommend revisiting your priorities every now and then to determine how much time is dedicated to meaningful pursuits and contributions.
As I am owning less these days, I feel myself more rested and at peace with what I already have. I tend to have more time and space (both physically and mentally) to allow breaks and space in my otherwise busy day. Saying 'no' to less important commitments undoubtedly leads to more 'yes' to tasks that delight you.
I hired a virtual assistant for my website at the very beginning when I knew nothing about CMS. Delegating is necessary when you are overwhelmed and stressed out. Eliminate what is making you inefficient and focus on your strengths instead. I am also limiting myself to checking emails to once a day in the evening. Taking sabbaticals is on top of my priority list as I am always inspired and stimulated by my experience overseas.
To end the piece, I wish to bring up the major culprit to our busyness, being addicted to information consumption. I am no tech wizard but can't help myself being drawn to the process of acquiring info. I am so used to going through my day trying to collect as much as I can as if my life depends on it but how much of it is relevant, or worthy of my time? My inbox is constantly overflowing with new info, new notifications, new discussion threads, most of them are inapplicable or pure time consuming.
Stop the influx with a limitation. Take your time to digest the info you are taking in and sift out the trivial. Your brain can only process so much on a given day and it is our call to decide how much we are prepared to be busy.
