Photo cred: Pinterest 

Aloha wellness friends! 

I know it has been a long time since we have connected. My apologies. I would love to simply say, “I have been busy,” yet I am growing to hate that word. 

I am finding I yearn for more days to do nothing at all but chill and read books, no human interaction needed at all. Ah…an introverts heaven-peace and quiet. 

  
Photo cred: Pinterest, books and blankets. 

We hear people talk about being busy all the time. The poor word has been worked to death. 

What if we decided to break up with busy and instead focus on being productive. You and I can be busy and produce nothing. 

Examples: 

• You can be busy repinning on Pinterest. I just wasted 1/2 hour there. Busy doing something, yet was it productive? 
• You can be busy scrolling through Facebook newsfeeds. Yet is it productive? 
• You can be busy watching tv, yet is it productive? 

There are so many things we can be busy doing. Yet are we productive? Are we producing results? Are we making an impact? Are we building a legacy? Are we helping anyone? Are we doing things that have impact or just filling our schedules with activities? 

I have this huge passion for teaching, mentoring. I will invest all I can to see someone else succeed. 

I met with my business mentor and she asked me a very important question. She said, “Erin, of all these people you are pouring into how many are actually growing and using what you have invested in them?” I sat and pondered for awhile. I realized I had a list of people who were recipients of free mentoring, free life coaching, and free resources who were not even invested. Some even came back later stating, “This is too much. I do not have time for this.” I had others who thought that was just myjob and attempted to take advantage. I learned a very valuable lesson. 

I was busy investing poorly and it was not productive. It was like taking 100 dollar bills and flushing them down the toilet. Most life coaches/mentors charge you. Some charge up to 75 dollars an hour. I was just giving things away. I learned people do not value free or cheap. They assume it is not worth much. My heart was abs is to help people. Yet my mentor said, “Who is loving and investing in you the way you are in them.” I sat for along time trying to think. I had never had a mentor other than her and she was being paid by the University.She was not donating her time. 

Busy is about filling time and schedules. Being productive is about wise investments, impact, and a harvest. 

When you think about your schedule and week, how many things are productive? How many hours are spent being busy and yielding nothing? Where can you shift focus? 

I had to make a list of all the people I was investing in and cut some one by one. This opened time to invest in some other things that are making impact. 

I love giving so I invested more time in my charity efforts for the poor/homeless. It also opens more time in my schedule to read, workout, prep meals, be with people who love me, and enjoy life. 

My recommendations are: 

Look at your day and where time is spent. Is it busy time or productive time? 

How much time can be reallocated to something with impact attatched? 

Once the time suckers are identified, trim the fat. I cut out quite a few mentoring relationships.

What would you like to do but have been too busy? Once the time suckers are removed there is more time to do those things. 

Which relationships have been neglected due to this marriage to busyness? How can you invest in those priority relationships. 

Lastly, have you been able to rest and feel refueled? We we designed to have some down time to rest and restore. Burning the candle at both ends leads to burnout. 

Here’s to a life of productivity and freedom from being busy! 

Xx

Erin