Managing our agendas is probably one of the most challenging undertakings nowadays. Most of us are always super busy, at work as well as with family and in our spare time. With the result that we feel stressed, overworked, busy but unproductive and constantly in motion without really getting anywhere.
The most common mistakes we make are:
– Planning in too much
– Underestimating the time things take
– Not planning in “rest” or break times
– Adding things to our agendas without ever taking anything out
– And we do not choose what’s essential
For 2023 my goal is to do less in order to do it better and to feel more productive and fulfilled. The starting point is to take things out of my busy agenda, but even more important, to practice being more selective in what I am putting in.
Saying no is not easy because we don’t want to disappoint others, or we fear to miss out, or we are simply not sure whether we really want something, in particular when it lies further in the future.
But how often have I found myself in meetings, workshops, and even bars and parties, wondering what the hell I am doing there? Wishing I would have chosen differently? How often am I rushing from one thing to the next in order to make it, trying to avoid missing out but never really being fully in? Sounds familiar?
It is about making choices instead of living by default, even if they are hard ones. About asking *why* I want to say yes (before saying it!). And about saying no to everything that feels like ‘maybe’, and to everything that feels like ‘no’, even (or in particular :-)) if I think I should say yes.
“You cannot overestimate the unimportance of practically everything.”
― Greg McKeown