I’ve coached many entrepreneurs over the years, and they all have one thing in common; they confuse being BUSY with being PRODUCTIVE.
Sound familiar?
Have you ever found yourself caught in that battle of busy with someone? Each of you fighting to prove who is the greater martyr spending more time doing more tasks?
It never ceases to amaze me how many people think that being busy means you are producing. It doesn’t matter how new you are to a job, or if you are part of the brick and mortar of an organization - Huge mistake!
HOW INSULTING
I recently met up with a dear friend and we started to exchanging job war stories
We realized just how easy it is to stack on as many tasks as possible in your day to give the illusion of being busy, while producing nothing of real value.
Next time someone complains about how busy they are, and it’s your turn to enter the battle, try responding with “I am not busy, I am passionately productive!”.
You better believe you have just insulted them.
QUESTION
Are you doing “stuff”, or are you doing “stuff” with a purpose?
TOO MUCH PRIDE
What do you really hear when someone proclaims they spend ALL of their time working, spinning their wheels, struggling to do what no one else could ever do? Uh boy, bring out the violin.
How awkward do you feel wondering what to respond to match their enthusiasm? “…uh… congratulations!!!... wow….unreal….!!”
When what you really want to say is “What the heck am I supposed to do with that information?” or “Why are you so proud of working toooo much?” and “Why do you feel the need to tell me about all of these tasks?” Better yet, “so….what did you actually accomplish?”
THE TRUTH
There is no doubt, leaders must to invest a large chunk of time to meet all their responsibilities. That is the price a leader pays to be at the helm of a business. If you don’t invest the time you won’t achieve the success.
There are seasons in my life where I pour massive amounts of time and action into a project because it needs to happen right and fast.
BUT - there is a big difference between being proud of doing your duties to achieve the goals and wearing the time you spend executing like a badge of honour.
WHAT DEFINES YOU
Does your time define you? Does time define your business?
OR – does the value you produce and deliver that matters most?
Output and value matter most - Not the time you put in.
FINDING YOUR IDENTITY
So, if this is you, it’s not too late. Stop fighting the Battle of Busy, stop bragging about how much you spend on a project, or tasks. No one is impressed, and you shouldn’t be either.
STOP BEING BUSY - START having intentional movement.
STOP BEING BUSY, START having passionate momentum.
STOP BEING BUSY, START walking a focused path.
Envision your ultimate goal and craft a strategy that leads to it. Start being proud of the effort you put in and the value you deliver reaching your goals, not completing tasks.
