"Being Busy" And Doing More Is Making You Less Productive

One of the biggest mistakes leaders make is thinking that “being busy” and doing more and more makes them productive and equals success.

Whether it’s at work or at home.

I get it.

Everyone seems to tell you this and you see it all around you. Just ask someone how they are doing and you’ll hear “I’m really busy and have so much to do!”

You might even find yourself saying this and buying into the belief that doing more means you are being productive, and that will lead to you accomplishing more and, therefore, being more successful.

It’s almost like you feel lazy and unproductive if you aren’t doing something.

And pretty easy to fall into that trap.

But let me ask you: Does everyone who is really busy attain the success they desire? Are they reaching their goals quicker? Are they completing projects on time and having the results they want?

And even if they look successful, are they really? What’s it costing them? Their health, sanity, quality, patience, relationships with their family?

Think about when you keep taking on more and more to do . . . do you feel like you are moving faster on your goals, or feel calm and in control?

Likely it’s a no.

Because when you are doing more and more, and have a mile-long to-do list, the feeling of control goes away and overwhelm sets in.

And when you are overloaded or overwhelmed, you are actually less focused and less productive. This is hard science and well-proven.

So, while you might feel like you're getting a lot of things done, you're likely not making real and meaningful progress.

Simply, being overwhelmed is often as productive as doing nothing.

Because any time you spend worrying about getting a task done, panicking about what will happen if you don’t do something or sitting paralyzed at your desk because you’ve got so much to do . . .

You are not getting done the very thing you need to get done!!! Hence, you are less productive.

And it’s likely costing you other things like enjoying your work and personal time, feeling good or having strong relationships with the people you care about the most.

If you continue to hold on to the belief that the more you do, the more productive you are and that equals success.

So how do you get things done and make real progress, without doing more and more?

It starts with you making your happiness and well-being a priority and focusing on only what's essential to stay out of the overwhelm. When you are in a more positive frame of mind and do less, it's easier to feel calm and in control. 

So next time the feeling of panic or overwhelm sets in (which it will) or you have more on your to-do list than time in a day (which will happen) . . .

1) Acknowledge how you’re feeling and what you need.

Be more self-aware by noticing how you’re feeling and acknowledge it. “I am feeling overwhelmed”. Don’t try to pretend you’re not feeling that way or keep plowing through your day.

It lessens your resistance and struggles when you acknowledge how you're feeling, and more quickly moves you into a place to do something about it. 

Positivity is not about pretending your problems don't exist, but rather seeing the most positive and optimal way to view and respond to a situation.

Once you notice and observe how you're feeling, ask yourself what do you need right now? Is it to focus on the task at hand, take a 10-minute break, take something off your plate or something else? Tune into what you need to move you forward.

Give yourself permission to meet your needs. It’s not lazy to take a break if that is what you need, and will allow you to be more productive when you come back to it.

2) Narrow in on what’s most important right now? Focus on just one thing.

Things are way more manageable if you can chunk it down and focus on one task at a time.

Ask yourself, if I can only get one thing done today what would it be? Even though you likely have 10 things to do, this question helps you get clear on where to focus first.

Write things out….when you can put something on paper it gets it out of spinning in your head. So write down anything that you have to get done and then set that paper aside and focus on the one task at hand.

Trust that when you focus on one task at a time, you'll feel calmer and get done what you need to get done more quickly. Then move on to the next thing (after a break of course!)

3) Give yourself breathing space and take things off your plate.

Everyone needs some downtime to think and rest. What can come off your plate? Can you extend the time for the task you are working on? What do you need to stop wasting so much time on (like email or social media)? Where do you need to block free space in your calendar to focus on a task without distractions?

And, start saying no more and avoid over-committing in the first place.

There’s something you can do to give yourself some breathing space. Just because you are doing lots does not mean you’re moving any quicker. Things are actually taking longer because of trying to do too much at once.

So let me ask you: is it beneficial for you to keep thinking that doing more makes you more productive and that equals success?

Or do you want to instead give yourself permission to slow down, create some breathing space, start to say no more and step out of the overwhelm, knowing now that that is what will lead to you being truly more productive and successful?

When you make your happiness and well-being a priority, and feel more positive, that's when you'll see the gains. You simply accomplish more when you do less and feel more positive . . . because that leads to increased productivity!

Remember, being overwhelmed is often as unproductive as doing nothing.

What's on your mind? Share in the comments!

What Next?

You can sign up for Stacey's masterclass, The Confident "No" here.

Stacey L. Olson is a Leadership and Certified Positive Psychology Coach, has 15 years of corporate experience and has gone through her own transformational change from burning out to balanced in life while performing at a high level (both in her corporate career and own business). She works with professionals who want to work less, live more and be their best even with all the demands, high expectations and messiness of everyday life. Stacey is the founder of The Balanced Leader™ program and offers executive and leadership coaching, workshops, and speaking.