The twelve busyness sins, how we complicate our lives.

I may not have the answers, but I have examples, living breathing lessons, some hard some easy, prescriptions from one man’s perspective of what was healthy for me at the time to help me grow and advance.

This may get preachy, apologies, I literally came up with this on Christmas Eve.

1.     Don’t compare yourself to others: Your strengths might and should differ from others on the surface. "Adversity is an advantage". Others may struggle with their own inner demons and put on a brave face, they may excel and shine early, but life is a long windy road, and people can get trapped in comfy just as easily as they can continue to advance.

2.     Don’t skip lunch, forego your holiday or break the Sabbath: Society has built in precious time for rejuvenation, don’t give it back. Unplug your phone, connect with your family, read a book, or write down thoughts that linger in your head. This time is now yours, its reserved for your creative time, don’t let it languish. As a wise boss told me, your company won’t visit you when you're sick in the hospital.

3.     Don’t feed your feelings: The difference between feelings and emotions is simple, your feelings are a flash, your emotions are a light. Do you want to live with a dark light or bright light? You don’t need to put the light out, but rather step back, recognize scenarios that evoke emotions, and decide what emotion you want to express, for how long, and how you will grow from the next incident. The flip side is the slippery slope of dopamine littered feelings, which we feed with candy, food, alcohol, sex, masturbation, vulgarity or violence. We feel good in the moment, but following our feelings and fueling the moment is short with long-term consequences. I’m guilty of this when the day goes wrong, a .65 cent pack a cookies is a nice distraction. But, when will I wake up and realize feeding my feelings aren’t making them go away. I think smokers have an intriguing threshold. They go outside, disconnect and socialize with colleagues. But, what is the feeling they are feeding, is there an emotion buried deep down they need to address.

4.     Don’t forget water: HALT, Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired. People will have a random outburst or expel emotion based on these four culprits, and water should be added to the mix. Water is really a hidden secret (much like sleep), that we don’t tap into. The best advice I have is to drink a GIANT glass of water first thing, add lemon some suggest as well. And later in the day, anytime you THINK, …DRINK. This method of Hyperhydration will actually reduce hunger as well, in addition to suppressing tiredness.

5.     Don’t check your phone the first 30 minutes and last 30 minutes of your day: The physiology affects your impressionable/emotional state in the early morning, and the blue light and dopamine disrupt your ability to transition into sleep. Coupled with this, I like to meditate while slipping into sleep, and gratitude or thank you notes are the first phase of your day.

6.     Don’t multi-task, and don’t pass up the chance to automate: The term itself was first applied as a process for computers, not humans. It takes on average 15 minutes to refocus after switching task, multi-tasking is no different. Batching is a safe cure, or even 2-minute meditation to transition effectively and declutter the mind. I would posit that this might improve recall capability, and drastically improve focus, not just on your task but in the various moments of our lives. If you repeat a task, complete a task twice, ask yourself can I automate this? Will the research, programming, and execution involved be less than 20-30x the task. Then crazy as it sounds, block out that 20-30x time and make that an automated task. This goes for personal assistants, email signatures, email templates, auto pay, etc. The ability to automate will reduce the need to multi-task, so get out your slingshot and knock a couple birds out of the sky. 

7.     Don’t forget to move: Mobility has benefits beyond circulation, respiration, exercise. Surprisingly it's an incredible way to generate ideas, tap into creativity and spark conversation. Steve Jobs was always taking a stroll, getting others to join him and knocking down tasks along the way. From my CrossFit coach, "It's not just Movement itself but interaction with the environment, Mother Nature, and other people. Capitalise on conversations on the move, instead of behind a phone, or meetings in the park instead of boardrooms. If you want your company/business or workers to think outside the box then take them there 😝 , some of the best ideas and business have come from outside influences."

8.     Don’t eat the marshmallow: Every time you hear a mention about delayed gratification, put $100 into an investment. Associate a positive corollary with that word, because the sooner you embrace it, the better your life will be, and a couple hundred extra bucks wouldn’t hurt.

9.     Don’t run to the fire, attack the red cape: When you approach a task, crisis, or friend in need. Keep your eyes open for simple solutions. If you attack the red cape, you will miss the matador.

10. Don’t pass up on mentorship, update your CV: Your career can change on a dime if you mentor you will continue to hone emotional intelligence required to excel at higher levels. Additionally, the mentorship subject you are attracted to might reveal a passion you wish to share, a passion worth pursuing. As the average company tenure dwindles, your CV needs to advertise who you are today, not 2 years ago. Allow opportunity to find you, the best version of you.

11. Don’t forget to grow your garden: It doesn’t help that you know a lot of people. If you are in need, you also need people that really know you. Invest time in 20 people minimum; allow them to understand your character, your strengths, and your side passions. Beyond that there should be 90 people that you are softly engaged with that are apart of a career circle that may lean on you, or you may lean on them. Don’t let them forget who you are.

12. Don’t overcomplicate things: Our lives are too busy, with bags and bags of information and a multitude of distractions. Why languish on a task by adding unnecessary detail. Don’t feed the noise, the world needs more poems.