Do you ever answer ‘How are you?’ with, ‘Busy’?

Learn how to Increase Productivity

Being busy is something lots of people aspire to. I remember when living in New York, feeling guilty when I was not busy, as if I failed at something. This also hindered me from enjoying a moment of down time.
We just finished our teacher training, which was a lot of work as well very fulfilling. Seeing our students grow on levels that should take a year in just 3 weeks is nothing less than a miracle. Kasia and I with the help of Tal, took on ourselves more than what most would want or could deal with. We increase productivity by doing the work with focus, attention, mindfulness and joy, creates a productive environment without the feeling of just being busy. We feel content to have succeeded once more with our yoga intensive program and had a successful launch with our Yoga and Spanish Immersion Retreat. 

Productivity and Busyness are Different

Though many people think that they are the same. Being busy does not necessarily lead to productive results. Sure, in both cases you are doing something, but how you do what you do is key. Increase productivity by staying focused,  keeping a clear mind, and you know what your goal is. Allow yourself to immerse in a task, and focus on how to get the best results without falling for perfectionism.

In a Forbes online article about Busy vs. Productive, Jennifer Cohen says, “The most productive and efficient people are those that “own their day” versus letting their day own them. They work to maximize their time to be as productive as possible, not just busy.” She goes on further to say, “There is a huge difference between being busy and being productive. You can be busy all day and still feel like you’re behind on accomplishing your goals. Busy people tend to be great at “looking busy” whereas productive people are simply “getting it done.”

Larry Kim sums it up in his article titled, The Difference between Busy and Productive People by saying, “Busy people are the human equivalent of a 7-Eleven. Productive people know when to shut the door.”

Busy Bee are you?

Being busy often means that you work overtime and have the illusion that you have less time than you actually have. When you are going nonstop, just filling your day with stuff, you also fill up your head with stuff, miss the present moment and lack the joy of the process as well as that of the accomplishment.

 Just being busy, without clear focus, gets you feeling even more busy. This is why feeling busy, makes you feel hurried and rushed and stressed. This leads to a desire to achieve more quantity but fail at noticing the details for quality.

At times life does get busy, and you have to deal with multi-tasking. However, if you work to increase productivity most of the time, you will be able to deal with busy moments more efficiently and calmly.

The Difference Between Being Busy and Being Productive

Being busy is about working harder while being productive is about working smarter. You may feel busy and frantic while when you are productive  you are focused. Being busy is fueled by perfectionism while being productive is fueled by purpose. Being busy is about being good at everything while being productive is about being great at a few important things.

How to Increase Productivity

1. Just do it. Tiny things, just do. As long as they do not interrupt your bigger tasks.
2. Get an app, excel or document. You need somewhere to keep all your tasks, add notes, comments and maybe even allow collaborators, so you can get more productive. One such app is Trello, but there are many other good ones.
3. Make your list. Know what your tasks are, what are big tasks, what you can do on your own and what you need someone to help you with.
4. Really know when you need to complete something. Then you can see if the project is too big or complex and you may need to break it down to smaller projects.
5. Set focused time to start or complete a task.
6. Make sure to allocate specific time slots for social media and email. Maybe 2-3 times per day, so you do not end up asking yourself, where the day went.
7. Keep a positive attitude. Being organized is one thing, but doing your best with reasonable expectations will allow you to be productive without unnecessary stress.
8. Keep it balanced. Being productive means, you have time for life itself beyond tasks and work. You make sure to spend time with loved, ones, meditate, practice yoga and go on a retreat with Doron Yoga.

Being productive is not only better for achieving goals, but also for increasing happiness and being content with your work and life.

It takes time to change your mindset, but if you start with small steps, you will see that it is actually easier and healthier being productive rather than busy. What other recommendations do you have for increased productivity? How do you keep the balance in life?

Try our fantastic yoga class (free online session, link below) to increase focus and productivity!

Enjoy !