Too Busy.

The life threatening Epidemic.

How often are you “Too Busy” in a day?

The expression lends itself both personally and professionally as a thoughtless response to our interactions throughout the day. But is Too Busy a defensive response, a casually-accepted all-encompassing vague response or a warning signal of a stress-fueled societal normalcy effecting our health and quality of life.

Wearing our “too busy” has seem to become a badge of honor, touting our over-scheduled and achievement based lifestyles as a way of metering our own happiness or value to others. Unfortunately, stress related physical, mental and emotional health issues are also at an all-time high. The correlation is plain to see, and related burnout is obvious in every industry and walk of life.

Do these symptoms sound familiar?

Emotional symptoms of stress include:

• Becoming easily agitated, frustrated, and moody
• Feeling overwhelmed, as if you are losing control or need to take control
• Having a hard time relaxing and quieting your mind
• Feeling bad about yourself (low self-esteem), and feeling lonely, worthless, and depressed
• Avoiding others

Physical symptoms of stress include:

• Low energy
• Headaches
• Upset stomach, including diarrhea, constipation, and nausea
• Aches, pains, and tense muscles
• Chest pain and rapid heartbeat
• Insomnia
• Frequent colds and infections
• Loss of sexual desire and/or ability
• Nervousness and shaking, ringing in the ears, and cold or sweaty hands and feet
• Dry mouth and a hard time swallowing
• Clenched jaw and grinding teeth

Cognitive symptoms of stress include:

• Constant worrying
• Racing thoughts
• Forgetfulness and disorganization
• Inability to focus
• Poor judgment
• Being pessimistic or seeing only the negative side

Behavioral symptoms of stress include:

• Changes in appetite — either not eating or eating too much
• Procrastinating and avoiding responsibilities
• More use of alcohol, drugs, or cigarettes
• Having more nervous behaviors, such as nail biting, fidgeting, and pacing

Why are we so Busy?

Is your day mapped by tunneling? Tunneling is the popular new term for focusing on short-term, immediately gratifying goals that lack any long term goal or benefit. By focusing on only the immediately perceived issues, we check boxes and give ourselves that quick shot of dopamine, while only fueling our addiction and losing sight of the big picture.

What is Your Too Busy?

When we are disengaged from the people, projects and priorities that truly inspire us, we are just giving our energy away and out of balance. So when you recognize your use of the descriptive “Busy,” here are other descriptors you may want to try instead.

I feel Productive. Engaged. Disorganized. Undervalued. Distracted. Overextended.

How do these resonate for you?

From Busy to Productive and Engaged, Your Healthy Life Recipe.

Eyes on the Prize. If your schedule is more task based than goal-focused, your doing it all wrong.

Starting with prioritizing, begin choosing activities and objective that support your top goals. If the task or invitation comes your way that does not support your goal, a polite, “no, thank you,” should follow. When you prioritize your schedule and energy to support your goals, results will follow. Meet with a personal coach and set your goals to match.

Finding support in your relationships is also key. When you surround yourself with the accountability of a coach, friends or family who want you to succeed, you fast track the hurdles of conflicting influences. If I relationship is not supporting you or your goals, you owe it to yourself to evaluate that relationship and communicate your needs.

Quality over Quantity. Do LESS. When we organize our time and energy to do fewer things, we do them at a better quality and we naturally stress less. You’re not too busy, but not everything can be a priority.

Start small, build habits for lasting change. If you could purge 20 minutes or anything from your schedule (i.e. scrolling TikTok, Candy Crushing, Replaying that unproductive meeting in your head from earlier in the day), where could you put that time towards your goal? Yes, 20 minutes is enough.

Questions? Ideas? I’m always here.

Prioritize to Optimize! Health and Happiness.