There's a new book out called Breaking Busy. I don't know of any woman who has extra time on her hands, and personally, my daily schedule looks more like a battle plan than a to do list. In fact, I've gotten a bit into glam planning because using different colors and stickers helps me be able to tell at a glance what I need to do instead of reading a whole list of things.
I hoped that the author, Alli Worthington, would be able to tell me all the ways that I could quit this crazy schedule of mine. Some days I wish I could go somewhere I couldn't check e-mail for a week. But since I work at home, that's not possible.What this book talked about was cutting non-essentials from your life. Things that are good but might not be the best for you right now. Teaching Sunday School? That's a good thing, and something I have done in the past, but there is no way I could do that right now. She also talks about how to make decisions. I really liked this part because I'm often paralyzed when it comes to making decisions. (It's hard enough for me to decide my pizza toppings, let alone something of importance.)
One thing I really liked was how she talked about setting boundaries with work. It seems everyone on my social media boards love the sound of the cha-ching when we sell an item. But, I am going to disable that sound and all sounds from that app in my phone. There has never been a case of an online selling 'emergency' and truth is, sometimes that notification wakes me up, goes off during dinner with friends, or otherwise comes at an inconvenient time. I am going to take back the power to work my business on my schedule. I don't know why I never thought of this before!
Another thing I liked was the list of communications from most intimate (face to face meetings) to most casual (social media posting). I love the idea of communicating with the least intimate form of communication needed. For instance, when I need information for my virtual assistant job, it rarely requires a phone call, but an e-mail will get the job done just as well.
Can I say I will be less busy after reading this? Unfortunately, no. My husband and I are renovating the fixer-upper house I inherited (while we are living in it!) plus pursing adoption. I joked in our foster parent training that I was a work at home mom to a guinea pig. I sell treasures online and in an antique booth, I blog. I am a virtual assistant. I am in direct sales. Realistically, I knew Breaking Busy wouldn't give me more time of a day or take any of my responsibilities away from me because everything I am doing is a good thing, and I have prayerfully added in everything I am doing to this season of my life. I do know it's only going to last for a season, though. Reading this book gave me the determination to keep going on with my crazy life because there is an end reward (adopting a child.) I know once that happens, my life will no longer seem to revolve around work and saving money for the expenses we are encountering, but I'll likely be just as busy in other ways. I loved how this book basically said busy could be a good thing as long as we have prayed about things, take care of ourselves as well as our family. Busy is a bad thing when it's not productive, not prayed for, and not purposeful.
This book will likely be different things to different women. Some may see it as finally permission to evaluate everything and cut some things from their lives. Others, like me, may see it as an encouragement to keep on with what we have been doing -- with a few minor adjustments to allow us to be more productive and therefore being able to claim more time for ourselves.
No comments:
Post a Comment