Work smarter, not harder, and feel fulfilled in your work again

Is busyness self imposed or a loss of controlling our own time?

Spoiler alert: it’s the former.

And not to spoil all the fun, but you never had control in the first place: Our endless efforts of seeking control in our lives is only a result of our ego trying to keep us safe, to keep us in over-thinking and rationalizing mode, where nothing productive ever gets done…

And yet, we’re all too busy. We cram our calendars so full that we rush from meeting to meeting exhausted and depleted at the end of the day. We forget to eat. We constantly rely on the convenience of and access to technology to cancel, change, and reschedule appointments at the drop of a hat without considering the impact to the person on the other side. We wear our busyness as a badge of honour; our over-working as a symbol of success.

Because busyness = productivity = success, right?

Is that working for you?

Chances are it’s not. It’s not sustainable. It’s in fact the opposite; it leads to burnout, unhappiness, and what many would categorize as failure.

How, then, do you discover a different way of working? How do you explore and put into practice a new approach when you’re surrounded by those following this antiquated model of busyness = success?

Change your mindset on what it means to be busy.

“Less is not laziness. Doing less meaningless work, so that you can focus on things of greater personal importance, is NOT laziness. This is hard for most to accept, because our culture tends to reward personal sacrifice instead of personal productivity.” - Tim Ferriss

If you are too busy, you have made the decision to be so. You have the power to choose: where you spend your time, how you spend your time, what you say yes to, what you say no to. Stand in choice and watch space open up on your calendar.

But are you being productive if your calendar isn’t full? If your answer to this question is no, it’s time to redefine productivity for yourself:

“If productivity is your goal, maybe you have the wrong goal.” - Adam Grant

Instead of focusing on productivity, shift your focus to what you want.

Ask yourself:

What am I curious about?

What projects light me up?

What is a project that’s motivating and meaningful to me?

Productivity is a means to an end; when we focus on it as the end, as the outcome, as the result, we start to lose any sense of fulfillment from our work. We start to wonder if it’s all worth it. We start to ask ourselves if there is something else out there…

But before you leave your job, change jobs, or give up on a better way of working, take the answers to the above questions and channel them into finding more meaning in your work. Be open to exploring opportunities where your projects, or areas of focus, can come to life. Understand how they are serving you and your career now, as well as your next role. Consider what projects you are working on can help you with where you want to go.

And then focus your time there.

Focus your energy on the work that is inspiring and meaningful.

Allow the distractions and noise to filter out of your area of focus and fade into the background.

Because what we focus on we create.

What we focus on expands.

What we focus on grows.

Kirsten Schmidtke is a professional coach, creator, and lover of lake life. She works with leaders, creators, and entrepreneurs to help them up-level their careers, businesses, and lives. Are you ready to explore what’s possible for you? Contact Kirsten to start the conversation!