Choose To Be Productive, Not Busy!

Happy Saturday, healthy tribe!

If I were to ask how was your week, many of you would say ‘busy’. Would you say that it was ‘productive’ though? Did it bring you a sense of fulfillment and accomplishment? This question is a little dis-arming and requires complete honesty with yourself. If you find that while being super busy you did not come a step closer to where you want to be either physically or emotionally, you might be busy-ing your time with the wrong things… (scary conclusion!)

Photo Credit: http://www.godandchristian.com/

Life is busy in general: there is barely enough time to do what needs to be done. For me 2011 has been extremely busy. Whether it was a week day or a weekend, my calendar was full of overlapping reminders and days felt like they were too short to get everything done. As a result dinners with friends were timed, blackberry always stayed within the reach, food was eaten in the cabs in between appointments, and even breath felt incomplete at times. In 2012 one of my intentions is to slow down a bit in everything I do, to enjoy the process instead of evaluating life by the number of checked points, and do not feel guilty taking time off. It means blocking at least 30 min to have lunch instead of chowing it down in front of the computer which has 10 different windows open, thinking before saying “yes” to new projects and meetings, taking a few deep breaths in the middle of the day and not booking back to back appointments. Instead of packing my day for the sake of being “busy”, I would like to realign my actions to my vision, and always keep some time for creativity and re-evaluation.

I am finally getting comfortable with a notion of “Slow Life” (well, maybe “slower” not necessarily slow). Slower life does not mean less productive, it means a more joyful fuller life where daily actions are aligned with priorities. A day, a week, and even years can go by in a rushed busy way but without bringing a sense of fulfillment and impact. I don’t want this to happened. I would rather give a few mins a day to think and visualize how the present day is connected to my vision. Wish me luck, as it can be difficult sometimes to shift out of a daily survival mode, drop the endless “to do” list, and retreat internally to search for wisdom.

Questions for you to ponder about: Have you ever had a sense of being so caught up in your day to day tasks that every day and every week become identical? Do you know where you want to be in the future physically, emotionally, and spiritually? Is there anything throughout your day that brings you closer to that state?

There are a few people writing about being busy and choosing not to be busy. Take a look at this eye-opening pieces: http://dcalareso.blogspot.com/ and http://www.chrisbrogan.com/notbusy/

While I am working on making my life less ‘busy’ and more ‘productive’, I will use the power of nourishing calming foods to stay balanced and calm 🙂 Here is one of my favorites:

Anti-anxiety smoothie

  • 10 raw almonds (soaked overnight and peeled)
  • 1 cup filtered water
  • 1 or 2 ripe dates
  • 1 pinch cardamon powder
  • 1 tbs Maca powder

Blend everything together and sip slowly, enjoying the moment:)

Hope you can take a moment to think about your vision for the future this weekend and find time in your busy days to work towards that vision!

Nadya

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