The Busy Trap: How You’re Sacrificing What Truly Matters

The Busy Trap: How You’re Sacrificing What Truly Matters

Eric: [00:00:00] The wisest leaders I know do not describe themselves as busy. No. Right. They are focused, they are disciplined, and they say no, and not yet more than they ever say. Yes.

Rob: We spend our days being busy instead of being productive. Right.

Kate: You’re doing busy work where someone needs you for something. Women in particular equate that to, oh, I’m needed.

I’m appreciated. I’m loved.

Wendy: You know, if we’re not learning to lead ourselves first and prioritize ourselves, it doesn’t usually carry over when you’re trying to lead a team.

Rob: Hi, and welcome to the Living Richly podcast. We’re so glad that you. Found the time to be on this show to see what I did there. Guys, we are, we are gonna be talking today about being busy and the busy trap, and many of you probably have even used that as the description When somebody asks you, how are you?

I’m busy. [00:01:00] Uh, and it’s a trap, it’s bullshit. And we’re gonna challenge it. Today, we’re gonna really push in on the idea that if you are too busy for your family, too busy for the things that matter to you, too busy to really live life to the fullest, uh, then you’ve got messed up priorities. And we’re going to look at that and, and explore the challenges.

And then also, of course, we’re gonna explore some solutions to how to. Unbusy ourselves. Every single one of us, yeah. Has the same 86,400 seconds in a day. Wow. Exactly that. Did you just do that math in your head? Calculated it out? That’s raw math. I’m impressed. Well, if it’s raw math, it may not be correct.

Uh, but, but let’s face it, as the guy who handles our finances in the business. Yeah. Let’s, let’s face it though. It is a common thing. Huge. We’ve all done it. Yeah. We’ve all said it right? And we hear it all the time. Yeah. I’m too busy. Uh, and yet what we’re really often. Uh, tying that into is busyness and how it [00:02:00] equates to being important.

Why is that something that is, has kind of become synonymous importance and busyness?

Eric: Well, well, I think we’ve been fed that lie since like we were little kids, right. Uh, and we are a performance oriented culture. So the, uh, if, if I’m not grinding, if I’m not busy, I’m lazy. Right? Right. If my calendar’s not full, uh, somehow I’m not important.

And somewhere along the way I think we. We stopped counting impact and we started counting hours as though those two things, uh, are the same. And, uh, when you talk about the, the badge of honor that, uh, busy has become, like honestly, when we, we ask most people how they’re doing the, it’s the most common response.

It’s like, not I’m good or I’m do, no, it’s, I’m busy. Um, and it’s almost like we’ve convinced ourselves that our worth is tied to the demand upon our time. Um, and, and we get really confused about this whole notion of like. Busy means I’m important.

Kate: Right?

Eric: Busy doesn’t mean you’re important. All it means is you’re accessible.

And that’s two very different things, right? Yeah. [00:03:00] I,

Rob: I I, I I love that you use the word impact. Uh, when you, when you in, in your definition there, because we often, we do, we tie in and think that busyness is impactful when really busyness is often a sign of reaction. Yep. It’s reactive behavior. If somebody says to me, oh, my calendar’s full, my, my question is oftentimes, well, why?

all: Yeah.

Rob: Right. Not, not. Oh, that’s amazing. That’s great. It’s like a full calendar does not signify or symbolize importance. It, it just simplifi simplifies that you’re not being prior, you’re not prioritizing your time, you’re not prioritizing the things that matter.

Kate: Yeah. And we confuse availability with our value.

And that that is like, and I did it for years. I’m like, oh, I’m so busy. Therefore. I’m, I’m worthy. Right. So there’s that connection that we do. And you, you stated it really well. It is just when you’re, you’re busy somehow that equates I’m doing important stuff.

all: Right, right. Yeah. Yeah. I think

Wendy: being in demand, um, can almost feed into the ego because for a lot of people, when they feel like [00:04:00] they are in demand, it’s almost, um, like a validation point.

Yeah. A hundred percent to like, I am, I’m important. Even when it’s exhausting, um, which can then just spiral completely out of control.

Eric: Yeah. I think we need to shift the language from, you know, how, I don’t like the term time management. We’ll get into that, uh, on today’s show. But, um, uh, I think we need to start looking at it as worth, like worth management.

Mm-hmm. Uh, until we can start dealing with ego and insecurity and validation from, again, being busy and being in demand, uh, we’re gonna struggle. On this. Yeah. Yeah.

Rob: So, so

Eric: let’s,

Rob: let’s shift into what are some of those myths? What are some of the things that, that people believe? And maybe Kate, I’ll start with you and We’ll, just because we, there’s a bunch of them.

Maybe let’s just kind of fire wrap it around the table and see how many we can come up with. Uh, but, uh, we have all of these ideas or concepts that you can push. It doesn’t take much to kind of blow them up. And one of them, I think right at the top of that list is the, is the idea that of time management.

Time management is a [00:05:00] myth. You cannot manage your time. You can. Only manage your priorities and what you do with that time. But what are some others? Maybe Kate, I’ll start with you.

Kate: I think also that we think it’s gonna get better. Like it’ll be better next week. It’ll be better tomorrow it’ll be, and if we don’t actually take the time to slow down it, you’re, if you’re busy and you think you’re not gonna be busy next week, you’re gonna be busy next week unless you change something, unless you approach it differently.

So I think we often go in, oh, it’ll be better next week. It’ll be better next week. And how many times have we all said that and we’re what we’re still. I’m busy,

Eric: right? We’re still stuck. Uh, I think another one is, uh, I need a better system.

all (2): I’m like, Nope, nope. It’s

Eric: not a better system that you need. You need better boundaries, right?

Like a color coded calendar and time hacks. Those can be useful, but that’s really not what, what’s at the heart of the issue. Um, what we need is courage. The courage to say no. The courage to let go, the courage to delegate, uh, the courage to choose what really matters to us, and give [00:06:00] that the time. It’s not, you’re not gonna hack your way there.

Uh, you need to, you need to find your courage to stand up for what really matters to you. Yeah. Yeah. What’s a myth?

Wendy: Um, if I, if I don’t say yes to everything, then I’m not a team player or, right. Or if I slow down, then I risk falling behind when in reality, it’s the opposite. You, you need to be able to slow down to be more productive.

Rob: I, I think another myth is, is people that just say, I’m just bad with time. Oh, that’s just the way I am. No, no, no. That’s just a cop out. Uh, it, it’s not that you’re bad with time. It’s that you’re, you’re bad with creating priorities. Just setting what. Really matters is, is actually the truth behind that.

Eric: Yeah. The other one, uh, I hear a lot from leaders is, if I don’t delegate it, it won’t be done. Right. Right. Yeah. I’ve never used

Kate: that. Never, never use that.

Eric: Yeah. The translation could be, no, maybe I’m addicted to control and I’m afraid to lead. I’m afraid to let go again. Right. Like, we need to understand that.

Uh, uh, I think finding courage for me when we’re [00:07:00] preparing for this show, I’m like this whole notion of priority management, this whole show is based on the predication. It’s about helping people. Figure out who they are and what they stand for. But if we can’t figure out how to make more time for what we stand for, um, then I think we miss out on living our richest life.

Rob: It’s, it’s funny, I had a, a, a client just a couple of weeks ago, we were having this very conversation and he made that statement about delegation, right? It’s, and so I, I, I listened to him say it, and then I said, so tell me, how long has it been that you’ve struggled with trusting people? And, and he, he paused for a second, like, and you could tell his brain was like, what the fuck has that got to do with what I just said?

And then he went, oh, oh, penny drops. Yeah, I see where you’re going on. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So we see this a lot in leadership. We see this, uh, we are all leaders in our organizations. We see this oftentimes with leaders. Is this a leader problem or is this a human problem?

Eric: I think it’s both. I think it’s a, a human problem for sure.

I don’t know of any human doesn’t struggle with managing [00:08:00] priorities and losing focus and getting caught up in busyness. And again, I think we, we, we mistake activity for productivity. Like, look at me, I’m kicking up a dust storm. And I’m like, okay, but are, are you just caught up in Methodist enthusiasm? I, I think for leaders it, this is a problem on steroids.

Right. Uh, I also think leaders have more to hide behind, um, uh, because of our work and our service and everything else. And we, we hide behind this masquerade of busyness. And as I mentioned earlier, I think this is really in a big way, it’s not time management. It’s worth management. And until we really get to the heart of that, uh, we keep chasing busyness and calling it purpose, right?

So I, I think it’s definitely both. But for leaders, it’s just. Next level because of their, what’s on their shoulders, right? Yeah.

Wendy: Yeah. I, I think it starts with leading yourself. I speaking from a female perspective, we are the queens of invisible work, right? So like the, the household, the family, the like, all the things, [00:09:00] all the errands and stuff like that.

When, you know, if we’re not learning to lead ourselves first and prioritize ourselves, it. Doesn’t usually carry over when you’re trying to lead a team. Yeah, a hundred percent. Or lead, lead other people. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Kate: Totally. And I, I, I actually think for me now, I don’t wear busy as a badge of honor. I wear it as like, I’m, I’m fucking up.

I actually see it the other way now, now I’m like, I, I’m, I’m too busy and it doesn’t feel good in my body and I’m not taking care of myself. And now, now for me, it’s flipped a little bit in my twenties and thirties, being busy literally meant. I’m valuable, right In my, in my head. But I will say it’s shifting for me in the last few years.

It, it’s interesting because,

Rob: because I heard this from all three of you different ways there is that, uh, the, I’m too busy, uh, excuse or language is, is a smoke screen almost like it’s, it’s covering something up. What, what is it? Let’s, let’s dive a little deeper into that. What is, what are we covering up when we talk about [00:10:00] the notion of.

Eric: Well, I think when people say Too busy, let’s, let’s be fair, it’s the translation there is usually it’s not a priority, right? Like if I’m too busy for something, uh, it means that this is not a priority for me right now. And I think it’s also, you talk about a smoke screen we hide behind. I think it can be a smoke screen to hide.

Uh, from hard conversations, difficult choices, right? We, we, I’m busy, I’m busy, I’m busy. It’s become so common, um, that in many ways it’s a bit of a cop out from doing the, again, the courageous thing that perhaps needs to be done in that moment. Whether that’s having a really uncomfortable, difficult conversation with someone, or just choosing what really matters over, uh, just meaningless activity, right?

Kate: It’s, it’s become like, uh, it’s, it’s. It’s a bit of a friend. I just had a conversation with one of my closest girlfriends, and we were, we had to go to something and she didn’t wanna go, and I didn’t wanna go, and I was actually sick, so I didn’t go. And she’s like, well, you said you were sick, so you, I couldn’t, I couldn’t say I was sick and I couldn’t go.

And I’m like, I’m actually sick. But that was gonna be her and [00:11:00] I, I literally talked to her. I’m like, can we just stop the leg? Pretending we’re sick or we’re busy or we can’t go when really we can go, but we need like to take care of ourselves. So I’m like, if you said to me I’m having a bad day, I’m not gonna make it.

I’m not gonna be the person who’s like, well, like we’re friends, like we should be. How does that go? He

all (2): goes,

Kate: but I do think sometimes even in the closest of relationships, we use it as, yeah.

Wendy: Yeah, I’ve used it to hide from, uh, not having conversations or to, you know, um, you know, I guess hide from things I don’t really wanna do, but I know that they need done.

And I’ve also used it to hide from just getting quiet with myself because I, when I get quiet with myself, then it’s, it’s time for my mind to go all fucking swirly, right? But sometimes that’s the time I need to be able to. Figure things out.

Rob: Yeah, yeah, yeah. It’s, it’s like busyness is not a calendar issue or used language that you’ve used.

[00:12:00] Just, uh, it’s a courage issue, right. It’s, it’s that the courage to truly face what’s going on. It’s fascinating that you would say that about, I. You know, just even the silence. Like we, we want to be busy all the time just to keep the no, keep noise going so that we don’t actually have to listen to what’s really going on.

Eric: Oh, I, so I remember years ago I was not in a good place and, uh, for sure I was keeping myself, uh, like on. In, in high performance mode because I was concerned that if I slowed down and stopped, um, I’d have to get present to what was going on underneath the hood and honestly thought I might just come apart.

So what was holding me together, I. Was not a strong sense of self, it was pure velocity. Velocity was holding me together that if I, if I’m moving fast enough, the friction is keeping things somewhat together. Uh, and I think a lot of us are afraid to get, um, still and for afraid to get present to [00:13:00] those questions that we’re asking and those struggles that we’re having.

And like to your point, like we lie. All the time. We lie to ourselves, we lie to friends, we lie to uh, uh, uh, like partners. Like we will make up stories about why we don’t want to do something or can’t do something. And I think busy is one of the most common, uh, excuses that’s used. Um, and ’cause we, we can’t, we, we haven’t found the courage.

To put up that boundary, to say no, to say, not now that, no, I’m not available for this because again, we’re deriving so much of our worth from that, that if we don’t say yes, somehow we feel like we’re less. Right. That he, I didn’t mean that to rhyme, but if we don’t say yes, we feel like less. There’s a good, good saying to hang onto.

Right? I just came up with, I just came up

Wendy: with, I want t-shirts. I want mugs, right? I want swag, I want bumper stickers.

Eric: I’m registering their website right now. The next

Rob: recording, we’re gonna have stickers on the back of, of the iPad so that if I don’t say yes,

Eric: I feel like less. I, it’s a, [00:14:00] that’s a great state.

Alright. Show’s done. Okay. No, that’s wrap my job. Boom.

Rob: There’s so much truth to that. Yeah. Like that is like when you, if you do pause and think about that, that that is so much of our self-worth today is tied into, um, being, you know. Here’s, if we don’t keep saying yes, we might stop getting asked. Right? And then what does that mean?

So what’s that about? What’s,

Eric: what’s behind that? Right? Right.

Rob: What’s the fear there of all of a sudden I’m not needed, wanted. I’m not important if I don’t keep saying yes. So we keep doing this and we fill up our calendars and there used to be an old saying, it doesn’t really fit today because of just where our technology and world is, but show me your checkbook and I’ll show you what matters to you.

Right? Yeah. And, uh, checkbook and calendar, right? Yeah. Of people don’t know a checkbook, but now it’s what’s a checkbook? Now it’s show me your calendar. Show me your calendar and I’ll show matters. What matters you like 78.

Back of my day. Kids used to write each other [00:15:00] checks.

Kate: Actually, no kid ever wrote checks. No kid ever wrote, wrote checks, check, like

Rob: whatcha talking about? Oh, I had a, I was, I was so proud. Like when I, like nine years old, I got you. See, you get your kids’ checkbook when, oh my god. First account. This whole issue.

I have this conversation, but wow. Is this scary when Eric’s the one that’s pulling us? I’m trying here.

Eric: No. Um, but I have this conversation with leaders all the time. Right. They, uh. Um, what do we, I posted last week or I’m about to post this week, I think coming up the, uh, anyway, I’m about to scratch that.

Think of time. The point is, I tell if I can say this to any business owner that’s listening, stop promoting your top performers. That doesn’t make them good managers. There’s like, that is not a thing. But I think what happens is strong performers get per promoted in, in the business world, get promoted into management.

Um. Their entire value, how they bring value to the business was based on their former role. Now you put them into a new role where they have to redefine how they bring value to the business, and perhaps they still have some worker [00:16:00] work to do. Yeah, and they have some management work now added on top of it.

Guess what they’re gonna focus on? Not the management stuff, they’re often gonna focus on their previous role because that’s the only know way they know to add value. And even in their management role, they end up kind of becoming the bottleneck because again, I, I’m the center of attention and people need me for everything and are coming to me for questions and whatever else, instead of empowering my people.

I feel somewhat, I feel very frustrated that I’m the bottleneck, but somehow I’m getting some validation out of it. Again, it’s about boundaries, it’s about courage, and it’s about, again, redefining, uh, how we bring value to any given situation.

Rob: Yeah, it, it, it really does come down to being a worth, uh, uh, conversation.

Right. Um. So we, we used to use our calendars to show us our priorities. Imagine today to, you know, tomorrow a camera is following you around from the time you wake up to the time you go to bed. Um, uh, what’s, what, [00:17:00] what do you discover from it? What does it tell you?

all (2): Hmm.

Eric: Camera’s on me all the time. Well, so the

Rob: camera, the whatcha talking, whatcha asking?

all (2): I tell him all the time.

Rob: So the whole time, like, like 24 7? No, I said from the time you got up to the time you went to bed, if it recorded every minute of my day. If you are being, it is documenting all the things that you do. Well, I couldn’t reveal it on this show. This is not that. I’m not, if you’re gonna be on

Kate: anyone.

Take it away from me because we’re struggling on the side of the team. I’m struggling.

Eric: Like, what am I, what are you following? What are you recording? So I don’t want you

Wendy: to record me. Me. I think it would be, uh. That I waste more time. And it’s not because I’m sitting around doing nothing but that I, I waste more time than I realize on things that don’t matter when I could be using that time for rest.

all: Right. I

Wendy: saw like true rest.

Rob: Yeah. Yeah. There, I, I dunno if this was in a book or if it was in a, a, a post that you had or, um, or if it was Harvard or if it was Harvard Business Journal. The, uh, or me. Well, I [00:18:00] did say you, that’s why I started with you on that. Uh, I didn’t hear that. Wow. Thanks. The, uh, but the, there is this, uh, I just lost my, you guys messed?

No. Oh, oh, there, it’s, I was right there with the checks. It was right there. The checks there. It’s

Eric: that old.

Rob: The idea though that, uh, we, we spend our days being busy instead of being productive. We spend our days being busy. Oh, doing all this stuff. And I think even for me, often my, if I had, if I had that camera following me, or if my day was just being recorded, however we see that, I think I would look back and it would be a little bit of a whole shit, how much time I wasted being busy.

Not on stuff that was important. Yeah. Or that mattered.

Kate: Yeah. I think, honestly for me, it would be, if there was a ca I think it would be like a [00:19:00] highlight, like more like a blooper reel of I do, because I think I cartoon, cartoon character, cartoon

scream all over the house. Like that’s what I’m picturing. But I do because I know how much I multitask. Yeah. And I know when I’m on a Zoom call, I’m writing my grocery list. Sometimes I’m actually ordering my groceries online. Like I am doing so many things at once. And to your point, Rob, I think that’s like being busy without necessarily being productive.

Yeah. And I also do think though there are, I love when you talked about rest, Wendy. ’cause it’s like, I think sometimes we. Think like the downtime, the reading, the book and whatever that looks like for you is people are like, well, that’s a waste of time. And I’m like, no, that’s the time you need to recoup.

Yeah. People, I’ve heard people call

Eric: like a, that I, I don’t have that luxury. I’ve heard that exact language slowing down and I’m like, okay, that’s a story you’re No, you choose. That’s right. Not [00:20:00] to make that time. Exactly. Exactly. I mean, one of the things, uh, uh, in, uh, in our coaching business is we help leaders reclaim 10 hours a week.

And, and I remember when we first started offering and making that promise, period, it’s not possible. And one of the first things we encourage them to do to reclaim their time and get some control over it again, is to do a time audit. Literally we give them a spreadsheet to audit your time for two weeks and.

30 minute increments and daily just write down what did I do? Um, and, and then you pick whether that was strategic or it was just busy work. Um, and, and, and I think, so it comes back to the, that’s like the camera following you around. I think when people do that, it’s a bit of a gut punch, right? Like, because.

You, you, you say, well, family’s a priority. Yeah. But they got your leftovers all week. Yeah. Right. You say your health is a priority and actually your calendar says Netflix and takeout. Like what we end up doing is, is often out of alignment to what we want. Um, and, and it’s all about again, uh, you, if you want to get control over this, if you wanna make a change about how you manage your time.

Manage your [00:21:00] priorities within time. Start paying attention. Take an audit. Like do, do the, do the work and that reality check. And for most leaders who do who, who do this, immediately find ways to, why am I doing this or why am I spending time on that? And are able to, to, to recalibrate.

Rob: And yet I’ve seen some leaders, and I had this conversation not that long ago with a leader who saw it, recognized it.

And said, yeah, but I’m gonna still do it. Right. And it was almost out of a, an addiction to the need behind doing those things. Is that mm-hmm. Is that, is that even a thing? Do you think that people can become addicted to their busyness because of what it brings them? Yeah. A hundred, a hundred percent.

Kate: Yeah.

Like a thousand percent.

Rob: Yeah. It’s, uh, 10,000.

Eric: Will someone gimme 20000% or is this a, did this become an auction? All of a sudden it’s infinity percent that happened on a webinar not long ago. Right. With our clients. I think it’s, when, when we talk about that [00:22:00] addiction, um, it’s, it’s ego dressed up as service and, uh, we do get addicted to it.

And like any, um, any addiction, it’s destructive. It’s unsustainable, but we convince ourselves that this is what success looks like. And actually the most successful people that I know are not in a hurry. They’re not constantly busy. They’re saying more. They’re saying no far more often than they say yes because they know that every yes.

Is probably sacrificing the best thing for good and better. Saying no to something that you know is not good for you or you’re not interested in, that’s easy. That doesn’t take courage. That doesn’t take boundaries. That’s just like really smart. It’s like, Eric, I want you to eat this liver. I. Stake. And I’m like, yeah, no.

Like that’s really hells to knows to the no. Like that’s really easy, right? Yeah. But if it’s choosing all of a sudden between good, better, and best, that’s, that gets trickier. Mm-hmm. And I think we sacrifice a lot of our best energy [00:23:00] on things that belong in the good and better category. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Smart leaders, wise leaders know the difference.

Kate: Interesting. I think for, for women in particular, there’s this notion of being needed equals being loved. And, and it creeps into the workplace. I’m not saying you’re searching for love in the workplace, but it’s the same thing. So if you’re, you’re doing busy work where someone needs you for something, women in particular equate that to, oh, I’m needed, I’m appreciated, I’m loved.

Right? And so I think, I know for myself in particular, when someone, oh, I, I need Kate for this. I’m like, oh, it, it triggers something like a different, I don’t know what it is. It’s, well, it’s like a different, it’s like a little

Eric: hit hit. Of worthiness, a little hit of dopamine, a little dopamine, right? You get a little do, I’m alert.

I’m,

Kate: I’m wor oh, I’m worthy. I matter. Like in all those internal ego states, right? I saw it

Rob: so much, uh, especially when I was in as a pastor, because you would see this where if there was crisis or whatever was going on, it would be, you could, like, in some cases it would be. Oh good. The [00:24:00] pastor’s here now, and it was like, you know, here I am, lone Ranger coming in to save the Day, lone Ranger, another old man, you know?

Yeah. You’re

Kate: just like dating yourself at, wow. I’m like, this podcast kids.

Rob: Google. Google, YouTube. What, what? What do you call it? Is YouTube a search? Uh, no. No.

Eric: Google. YouTube are finding a new host for the Living Room podcast. I

Rob: felt needed. Un until now. Yeah. Until, no. Uh, but you know, you, you did, you came in and you’re right.

There’s something about that saving day. What,

Wendy: yeah. Yeah. I think the addiction isn’t necessarily to the work, but it’s about. The feeling of being the person that holds it all together. Yeah. I remember when I was laid off from my HR career and I was always the one on the other side of the table, and what an experience to be the one being let go because of a restructuring.

And my first thought was, they can’t run this place without me. Like I am the person that runs the biggest part of our organization. Right. And they’re just fine.

Eric: Right. [00:25:00] They survived it. I mean, it’s, uh, uh, Kelly Flanagan who was, uh, on the show not long ago, again, his third, uh, third visit with us. He’ll definitely gonna be coming back.

But in his book, lovable talks about how we often chase our sense of worth and value, uh, in our relationships, um, and in our purpose in, in, in what we do. And when we do that, we put. Then unrealistic expectations on our relationships and on our work to satisfy our need to feel worthy. And, and so we’re, we’re, we’re making, these are unrealistic demands.

He says, you gotta start by loving yourself first and, uh, just accepting your worthiness. And when you do that, then you show up more fully in each of your relationships and you show up more fully, uh, in your work and in your purpose. Right? Yeah.

Rob: Yeah. We’re, we’re almost halfway through our time. We’re gonna start to talk about solutions and.

Strategies on how to unbusy yourself. But let’s, let’s get personal on, oh, no, let’s get personal. Let’s get really personal on just, is this the camera thing again? No, this is no more, no more cameras. Is a camera following me around. No more [00:26:00] cameras. That, that

Eric: felt very personal and intrusive. Just saying.

Okay. Well, well, I appreciate it. Hear your feelings. See, that took courage. I found my voice there

Rob: and I don’t give a fuck. Alright, uh, let’s, let’s, let’s talk though. What, what is an area or something that you neglected? Hmm. By being busy. You, you, you chose busyness as a way to neglect or to not focus in on a certain area.

What was, what would be examples of that that we could share?

Kate: For me, like the example I give, it’s not a work, it’s a life one, but it was the grief when my stepdad passed away and I went into busy, but we were just talking about this wedding night. I went into. Busy mode to not have to feel a single ounce of an of emotion.

You know, he passed away overseas. We had to get him home, we had to play in the funeral. I had to like you go into action mode to not feel a single thing. And uh, I remember, I think it was a week later, you know, they give you all of three days off for bereavement, right? Yeah. Which is ridiculous. And I [00:27:00] went back to work and I went back to work way too soon.

And I, I remember I got into work and I remember just being like. I can’t, I can’t even pretend to be here. Yeah. I just couldn’t be in the moment. And I, I knew in that moment I hadn’t taken any time to grieve do, I was so busy doing, not feeling, and it caught up to me, and I just, I didn’t, I was lucky that I was, uh, employed somewhere where I could take time off, but that, that’s a situation of like doing Yeah.

Instead of feeling, and it does, it just, all of a sudden your cup is like, eh, like someone just like cuts you off in traffic and you. Lose your mind in a dis like, proportionate way.

Eric: Yeah. What a great example. ’cause I, I think a lot of folks can relate to that, that, again, uh, busy is an escape. I’m, it was escape.

I’m, I’m, yeah, totally. Literally, I can’t deal right now. And so the way that I deal is I keep myself going and convince myself that this, all this stuff actually needs to happen. Um, as a way of, again, not having to, to take that

Kate: well, and, and it, it gave [00:28:00] me purpose. That in that moment. Right. It gave me like, I felt like I was helping, I was doing something too.

And

Eric: I think sometimes that’s a, um, can be a, a short-term coping strategy, right? Like we, we say on the s show all the time, you, you, you can’t be healing and growing all the time. Sometimes it is effective to turn your attention to other things, but as a long-term strategy, it’s, it’s, it’s, it’s not good.

Rob: Well, ’cause there are times e even that, when everything else feels out of control or, or out of your control, you f. Often we, what is it? I can go to work, I can, I can stay busy. That’s in my control in that moment. But you’re right, when it becomes unhealthy and it’s avoidance of Exactly. Grieving. What about for you?

What’s, what’s Well

Eric: for me definitely was, uh, doing the deeper, uh, healing work, right? Like over the years I would find myself, uh, crashing and burning, uh, more often than I would. Care to admit, but I actually have already, I was

Rob: gonna say you. It’s all good. We’ve already do it. All right here. Yeah. I’ve already beared my soul.

So,

Eric: um, but it was ’cause of fucked up priorities and, and the rest of it. But I, and I would always [00:29:00] do just enough work. Again, this spoke to how, uh, I felt about myself that like I, again, that deep self sense of self-loathing, I do enough healing just to get back in the game. Like it was never actually about.

Getting whole, uh, or being whole. It was about just patch me up, coach, I’m ready, put me back in the game. Um, and reality was, uh, more often than not, I, I wasn’t ready. I, I wasn’t ready. So, um, I paid a big price for. Yeah,

Wendy: mine is similar. Like I think I, I spent years, uh, focused so much on keeping everything together versus me not realizing that I was falling apart.

So, you know, my own health, I got, I, I got really good at forgetting what it was like to be happy for me versus everybody else, which then, you know, you’ve got resentment that sets in, uh, you know, just, just overall exhaustion, sickness, all of that. And, and, and then just realizing I was on such autopilot.

Versus living intentionally.

Eric: If your team’s not delivering, if your profit is [00:30:00] missing in action, if you’re still stuck doing everything in your business, it’s time. Rhapsody works with business leaders just like you to drive real results. That means stronger teams, better systems, and more time to focus on what actually moves the needle.

It’s time to stop reacting and start leading. Go to rhapsody strategies.com and let’s make it happen together. Right, right.

Rob: Yeah. So let’s, let’s start to now get practical on this. You, you have somebody comes to you and says, Hey, you know, like, I’m buried. I’m, I’m overwhelmed and I’m, I’m ready. I, I, I, I, I gotta get out of the busy cycle.

Uh, where, where do you start?

Eric: I. Well, I think you start by just pausing. Hit hit the fucking pause button, right? And, uh, start thinking like we, we default, we just default into meaningless activity or, or endless demands as though we are, we have no control that, but that’s not true. We don’t, we have far more control over this than we realize.

And, uh, when you, when you, [00:31:00] you take an audit, like, don’t, you’re not gonna look, Rome wasn’t built in a day. You’re not gonna, you’re gonna change this overnight, but could you reclaim one hour this week? Could you make time for something that actually matters and put other things on hold for one hour? Start small, start with one thing, and you’re gonna begin to see that, uh, and, and, and begin to believe that this is actually possible, right?

That this, this, this, uh, uh, this hamster wheel that you’ve, you’ve put yourself on ’cause nobody’s done it but yourself. Um, you’re the, you put yourself there. You can take yourself off. Mm-hmm. Right? One little step at a time.

all (2): Mm-hmm.

Eric: Yeah. What

Rob: about for you guys?

Wendy: I, I agree. Like, I think it, a lot of people think of this as like, oh, everything is just so overwhelming, right?

And, and overwhelmed people do nothing. So it is about starting with something small. And that could be as simple as like, I don’t wear my watch anymore on Sundays. Um, because that’s my, I, I don’t need to be notified about things, right? So whether that’s leaving your phone downstairs or not wearing your watch on a certain [00:32:00] day, or.

Reclaiming, you know, a half an hour in the mornings when not everybody has tons of time in the morning, but even that half an hour where you’re choosing to put your mind, go where you’re, you know, choosing to, uh, decide where your mind is gonna go. It doesn’t have to be, you don’t have to fix 52 things in a day.

It really is about being consistent with one small thing. And then when you have that master, then. Try something else, but I think a lot of people just give up so easily and just saying, well, I can’t do it, you know, or,

all (2): that was good. I was like,

wow. I, I,

Rob: for me, part of it is change your identity, change the language that you’re using. Mm-hmm. Because even just when we say. I am busy or I’m so busy we are telling our brain something. Yeah. Right. We are telling our state everything about it and just changing that language. Now I’m, I’m struggling to, to kind of, what’s the [00:33:00] language?

Uh, what’s, what’s, and maybe I’ll open this up, and this is kind of just, you know, off the cuff, what is better language for someone to use than I am so busy, or I am, I am busy. Uh, you know, I’ve got, I, I, I’m overwhelmed with things to do. What’s a different. Language they could use, even though that may still be true in that moment.

They haven’t changed their calendar, they haven’t done all that stuff. What’s language we could shift to?

Eric: Well, I think you alluded to it earlier when you said like you’re at a stage now in life where when you find yourself saying that that is not a badge of honor, you, you recognize there’s been a big reframe.

That’s a huge reframe to say, okay, how about use the language you’re already using? If you’re used to saying, I’m busy and we all are, what if you, uh, attached a different meaning to that? And say, okay, so busy is not good. This is not a positive thing. Being busy means I probably have gotten, I’m, my, my priorities might be misaligned right now.

My choices might not be mis, [00:34:00] I’m kind of got caught up in the flow. And as we often say, like, don’t, don’t approach that with this like. Uh, super critical judgmental tone to say, oh, look at you. You’re doing it again. No. It’s like, oh, that’s interesting. Uh, yeah, I, I’ve gotten caught up again. I’m, I’m gotten caught up in the busyness.

Alright. Uh, what do I wanna do to recalibrate? Like, uh, I love you. Talk about how you, how you, you start your day makes a big difference, right? And even carving out that 15, 20 minutes to 30 minutes to, to take time for yourself and choose as opposed to just get up. And then all of a sudden your day is dictated by.

Everybody else’s demands, everybody else’s expectations. I tell leaders, man, you wanna get control. If you don’t get control of your inbox. Like, here talk, I’m not gonna talk checks. I’m gonna talk stuff people actually use today. Um, but wow,

all: I got fire.

Eric: If you don’t, if you don’t, people use

Rob: email.

Eric: They do. Wow.

They actually do rob. Sorry. Damn it. Yeah. But if, uh, you, you, again, if you don’t get control of your inbox, you don’t get control of your [00:35:00] calendar. Other people are running your life.

Kate: Yeah. I would like get present to how you feel, what you’re talking about. What often I say is, uh, observe without judgment.

Yeah, I love that. So start observing like you’re like, I, I’m not feeling great. Like you’re, that reframe is just be like, I don’t, this is too busy. Like, I feel frantic, I’m not feeling good. Like for me it’s like. Like I said, it’s, it’s not the badge of honor. Yeah. It’s like, how did I get here again? Like, I, like, why am I so busy?

Why am I feeling so overwhelmed? Why am I, so if you can observe it, not critique yourself for filling your calendar, being busy, but just observe it and then be like, oh, something needs to shift. You don’t, you don’t need to. Like to Wendy’s point, you have to figure out 51 things in, in the first day, but start to 50.

I’m sorry, those 52. Wow. I already figured out one. You’ve already more, I already,

Rob: yeah, she’s figured thing out. Sorry,

Kate: my list was 51.

Rob: Yeah, it, so we’re I, this is great and, and I think it’s, [00:36:00] it, it really is about. Pulling away from the judgment of that language and how we see ourselves and Right. You’re never gonna change your behavior through judgment, through shame. Yes. Right. Right. It’s, and so moving that language just starts with just, again, accepting who you are and then make, uh, making that shift we’re.

We all are, uh, high impact leaders. We all are passionate about the things that we do. We all have, uh, wear multiple hats, uh, involved in multiple different, even businesses and stuff like that. We’re all doing a lot of different stuff. Um, how do leaders in that environment, uh, take that control to be able to, uh, uh, create that boundary, those boundaries without feeling guilty?

Kate: Some simple things like Wendy, like you’re taking your watch off on a Sunday. Like, you know, in having a small business means you’re on all the time, but you absolutely have to carve out [00:37:00] time. You can agree to put your phone in another room for even an hour if you wanna start small, and I don’t care if you’re in the kitchen and you wanna look up a recipe, you don’t go get your phone.

Like just sit, start small with some of these boundaries to protect your. Space. Space. And I think that divide when we, you know, we’re so connected now that work and home are not two separate things. They’re so intertwined. Like, I don’t, I don’t get notifications on my phone ever for work. I just won’t do it.

I, that’s a decision I’ve made. I think there’s lots of micro things that you can do to, to, to separate, because I know if I get a notification and it’s from a client and it’s good or not good, that will affect. My mood, I’m not present where I am. I am now distracted, so I’ll look at that when it’s time to look at it.

Wendy: Well, and I think that’s a great way to be able to teach. Um, people how to treat you, because if you’re the type of person that’s always responding to [00:38:00] something, if somebody texts you and you’re always responding in three minutes or you’re, you’re always like, you’re, you’re teaching them that it’s okay.

That they know that you’re always gonna be on. Or same thing when your team or somebody asks you to do something, if you’re always doing it right away, you’re not teaching them that they can figure it out on their own. So some of my staff, right, well, they’ll be like, you know, well, you know, what about this?

What should I do with this? And, and, and my default now is, well. What do you think you should do? Like, there’s never anything that’s like so wrong that you’re gonna fuck something up so bad. Like almost everything can be fixable, but this is teaching them to have a little more autonomy on making decisions where I’m not rushing to fix everything for it.

On that,

Rob: that’s a powerful one. And you taught me this, um, ’cause of a, you know, a situation where, where, where someone would, would send out a note and I would be responding. Immediately. And I remember you saying to me one time, Hey, we, you, you could take your time there. You don’t need. And and, and I remember, I think I

Eric: started by asking you like, what’s beyond [00:39:00] that for you?

Yeah. What’s, what’s exactly, what, exactly what was question. I I didn’t observe you doing that in any other situation. Right. And, and with this one specific individual, whenever they reached out to you, you felt a need. I felt

Rob: like I had to and, and it and it, and it was a, and I remember thinking, yeah, what’s, and it was a, that was, there was a healing that happened as a result of you asking that question.

And I think it fits in so well. So now I, I’m, I’m able to get. In that place where if I do see something, it’s, you know, it when I get to, when it’s, when it’s in my priority and in, in that, you know, timeframe, I’ll focus on that. But you’re right there, there is no need to now, oh, gotta make sure that they’re feeling good or happy, or whatever the case might be.

Eric: You, you talked about how, like when we respond immediately to someone’s request, we’re conditioning them to expect it, you know, uh, if, uh, a client reaches out after hours and you respond, you’re conditioning them, you’re training them that, that’s okay. And now you have to, you, you, you can find yourself. In trouble.

I’m like, one of the best ways to start taking back control is flexing the muscle of saying no, uh, of, of actually negotiating time [00:40:00] and not just responding to every request that comes your way. Like take, take a look at your calendar this week. I like, I issue a challenge. Like, take a look at your calendar.

Cancel one thing, cancel one meeting, get one hour back and protect it like your life depends on it. When I’m working with leaders, I’ll, I’ll, I talk to ’em all the time. I said, so whenever someone demand, like says to you, uh, I need your time. Right. Uh, I said one of the, let’s talk about the open door policy for a minute.

Um, that sounds really noble. It doesn’t work. Open door policy means everybody else controls your time so they can, they can interrupt you anytime. They can come to you for anything at any. And here, how do you get your work done when you’re constantly being interrupted? Uh, I’ll even, uh, challenge leaders to say, like when someone says, Hey, I need this by tomorrow.

To say, well, okay, um, I can appreciate that’s what you need, but unfortunately I can’t do that. Um, unless I, I, I push these things off. Do you, do you, would you like me to push these things off or focus here or I can’t do it to today by end of day today, but I could do it by end of day tomorrow. How does that sound?

In like [00:41:00] 90% of cases you’ll get, oh yeah, that’s fine. Because most urgent requests that come to us are not urgent. Okay. In the world of busy, we call them urgent. We label them urgent ’cause it’s the only way we get shit done. ’cause if we don’t say that we’re, we’re afraid that people aren’t gonna give it time and attention.

Knowing that you can push back even gently on most requests and renegotiate a better timeline for yourself so that you’re not feeling overwhelmed. Here, lemme give you another great one. Next time someone invites you to a meeting in the workplace, ask them, so do we really need a full hour for this? Or, here’s an even better que, can we do this in 45?

And in most cases, yeah, we can do it in 45. And you just gain yourself 15 minutes, right? Or do I really need to be there? Is this something you can just update me with afterwards? Like again, as we start to take a bit more control over our time? The best, like I, let me go back to it. The best leaders I know, the wisest leaders I know do not describe themselves as busy, right?

They are focused, they are disciplined, and they say [00:42:00] no, and not yet more than they ever say yes. They reserve the yeses for what really matters. It’s like. You know, when we say we don’t have enough, I don’t have any more fucks to give, start saying, I only have a few yeses to give, and what am I gonna give ’em to

Kate: do?

Yeah. I love that. Right? Yeah. Love

Rob: that. Yeah. We, you know, at at Rhapsody, we, all of our team has access to our, each other’s calendars. Yeah. And can book meetings. In each other’s calendars for us. Right. But we have, it’s clearly mandated that if you’re gonna book time in my calendar, there’s going to be a clear description of what it’s about.

You’re not just booking a time slot without any explanation. I’m not, I’m not saying yes to that unless I have clear understanding. Because you’re right. Half the time we can go, you know what? We could resolve this with. Two minutes of texting or with a quick phone call, we don’t even need a meeting for that.

Uh, and we can adjust it that way. And so I think those are great suggestions. Great ideas for sure. Well, there are

Eric: places where you can start to flex the muscle. Yeah. The, the rea Like if you’re uncomfortable saying no, if you’re uncomfortable saying, not now. If you, [00:43:00] if you find yourself sort of saying yes to almost everything that comes across your, like comes across your desk or, uh, it’s, it doesn’t have to be just work related.

This is true usually in our personal lives as well. Um, start flexing the muscle and you’ll get stronger at it. Right. The, the reality is. We end up living when we’re li when we’re living in that busy mode, we’re actually living in many ways in, in fight or flight. Yeah. It’s, it’s a stress response. It’s a, that is the lowest brain function.

Fight or flight is meant to keep us alive. If a saber tooth tiger, uh, attacks us, but when’s the last time? You encountered a saber-tooth tiger. Yes. Yesterday. Yesterday. I know,

Kate: I just, I did too. Oh my God. You’re so one.

Rob: Don’t ask, don’t ask if you don’t want an answer.

Eric: No, but like we, but we respond to every demand. The, the, the actual physiological response, especially when we get into that hyper busy mode, is as though we, our life is under threat. And it’s not like fight or flight’s a terrible [00:44:00] place to live in. ’cause it’s, it’s like all the, like all the bad drugs are like chemicals are being released into your body and they’re out with cortisol and adrenaline and all this other stuff that keeps you operating way up here.

Is that how really how you wanna live, mom, you’re not

Kate: even. Fighting the fight that’s in front of you, you’re fighting the fight that you fought when you, you were like younger for like, it’s, it’s not even about what’s happening around you. Yeah, a hundred

Rob: percent. Yeah, a hundred percent. Yeah. Yeah. And, and you created, you, you, I think these are great practical, uh, suggestions for leaders.

Uh, I love that you created a, a, a guide, a document that speaks, uh, specifically to how leaders can free up that time some creative ideas. We’re gonna talk about how they can get that. Uh, but that’s an, uh, you know, so an excellent resource. Person tool. Um, let’s talk a little bit out of the box. Let’s talk a little bit unconventional and, and maybe whether somebody who is watching or listening, whether they’re an a leader or they’re just looking for some practical creative ideas that they can do in their day-to-day life, uh, [00:45:00] to free up some time.

What are some creative things that people can do to free up time?

Wendy: Yeah, I would say decluttering. Now I know right away people will think, Ugh, I don’t have time for that. Why? Because I’m too busy. I’m too busy. But even just taking 15 minutes to organize something that’s gonna make you feel, um, lighter in your space because, um.

Overwhelm is exhausting. And I will say if, if thinking of things like decluttering, uh, makes you wanna staple your eyelids to the floor, then hire somebody because that, you know, that. Hourly rate, you’re gonna pay somebody to help you do something, can save up so much time and stress, and you’re gonna spend the money anyways somewhere else at home, since we are just talking, but it’s just like there’s certain things.

That are so worth the money to be able to give you the set. Like, like we have a cleaning person that comes in once a month and I know [00:46:00] some people like luxury of cleaning. Yes. But what we pay her saves us so much time. For what? I mean we could go out for dinner and probably spend, we’ll be wood, spend the same amount.

Right. Or you know, painting like I, no, no, no. I will never paint in a, however, I hate it. It gives me a rash just thinking about it. And so I will pay somebody. Maybe do you paint?

Eric: What you should be asking him is, do you paint well?

Wendy: But those are things that I don’t like. Just hire somebody to do it because, uh, that’s just gonna help.

Yeah. It’s just gonna take away the overwhelm. Yeah, I would totally Cleaning.

Eric: Yeah, like cleaning is, I think, um, um, especially for busy leaders. Uh, listen man, if you can like. To your point, if you can afford to go out for dinner, uh, most dinners are gonna cost you what, um, a cleaner will cost you, right? Ar around that same amount.

And think of, again, the time that you reclaim that’s like three to four hours a week, uh, that you can get back just by, by, by doing that. Um, the other one for me is, uh, [00:47:00] ordering your groceries and having home delivered, right? Uh, rather than you have to make your list anyway. You can make it. Not pay with a check.

You can go on a website and order all this stuff that one of those www things. The interweb, the interweb. But, but again, what a time saver compared to driving to the store, elbows up, going through the aisles and standing at the checkout line and, and yeah, it might save you an hour a week, but again, that’s an hour a week you could be doing something else.

Kate: Still an hour. Yeah. I would add to that too, like just create routines that remove decision making, like simple things like program your coffee maker if you have a drip one like I do, but you can still, I’m talking about dating yourself. I still have it, but you, there’s things you can do to set up your morning, so it’s really easy.

Like if for, for, if you have a really busy schedule, layer your clothes, if that’s where you get stuck in the morning, figure out where it is that you can just alleviate that decision making in the moment when it feels super stressful and just, and just remove that and make it simple. Easy. [00:48:00]

Rob: Yeah. All sounds well and good.

Yep. It all, this is all sounds like wonderful. Oh, this is gonna be so great. Free up this time. Uh, and I’m sure there’s people listening going, I’ve tried it, it won’t work. I I can’t do it. What would you say to them?

Eric: I’d say number one, like you gotta believe you’re worth it. Right? Um, if, if you are just gonna keep believing that, that you’re not, then you’re gonna continue.

Like usually this is a self-worth issue. I kind, I keep coming back to that, but I think it’s a self-worth issue if you have discovered your sense of worth. I. Um, you’ll still be available to help other people. We’re not talking about swinging to the other extreme. We’re not talking about, uh, living a selfish, uh, life.

Uh, but I think a lot of us could afford to be more selfish and still not be selfish like we are. So sometimes, um, um, not focused on what is important to us that we end up giving out of a tank that’s near empty, right? Uh, so the more we can, uh, uh, believe change our beliefs, we talk about this all the time.

You [00:49:00] cannot change, uh, you cannot. Act inconsistently with your beliefs for any length of time. You can modify your behavior short term, but if you do not change the the fundamental belief that’s driving that initial behavior you’re trying to change, you will go back to it in a heartbeat. You have to go at the belief level.

So some of this work is believing you’re worthy. Believing, like getting clear on what really is important to you and, and what you stand for. And then saying that is what I wanted, devote my life to. And I’m gonna start cutting out things that, um, are are unnecessary, busy things. And I’m gonna find, uh, I’m gonna start saying, uh, when I, when I hear myself saying I’m busy, I’m not gonna go, oh, I’m gonna go, oh.

Like, it’s a very different, uh, to your point,

Rob: treat it like a warning.

Eric: Treat it like a warning sign as opposed to a badge of honor. Right? Yeah.

Kate: Well, and I think what helps with that is if people can write down, you know, we talk about values. Lot, but like where do you wanna be spending your time? Just start there.

I don’t think a lot of people, well, we all say it like family and friends, but like maybe put [00:50:00] some time blocks around, like, I want 20% of my day to be with my kids. And then map out what that looks like in the hours that you’re home and figure out, you’re like, oh, that might be like three hours when I get home.

And you’re likely not doing that. I think if you, A lot of people don’t. Really know what it looks like. They know it in theory, and they’re like, I wanna work less and spend more time with my family. Well maybe map that out a little bit and then it gives you something. Doesn’t mean you tackle it all at once, but then you’re aware of it when you’re maybe not aligned with your values.

Yeah. Yeah. I think a lot

Wendy: to what both of you said is it’s, you’re learning how to rewrite your story. Yeah. Uh, because if, if we keep telling ourselves, well, I’m too busy, you’re always gonna be too busy, and part of it is the narrative that you tell yourself. So. Every Yes we say to, uh, say something to is misaligned, uh, to a no.

That maybe that’s something that we actually don’t want. Yeah. And so it’s really being intentional with the narrative that we’re using. Well,

Eric: so, so I love that. Let me bounce off that a little bit more and take that deeper. So busy is often, uh, what [00:51:00] people contribute burnout to. I’m, I was too busy and I ended up burning out.

Burnout is actually not a result of busy burnout is a result of misalignment. Uh, it’s not because you’re working too hard. Yeah. Uh, now perhaps some, there’s some contribution there, but it’s because you’re, you’re not aligned to your true sense of purpose and you’re not aligned to what really matters to you.

Um, we talked about this recently, I think when we had the docs on the show, Cujo and Anmar, and said like. I’m a bit like I, I, I’m a productive guy. I got lots of energy and I go, um, and it, it, I, when I remember when I burnt out in the past, it wasn’t because somehow I was working harder than I normally do.

It’s because internally I was misaligned. Uh, my life was not, I. Kind of a coin in the right direction. Uh, now I am, if I wanna say I’m busy, I would say, actually no, I’m, I’m on point and I’m productive and I’m investing my time and energy in things I’m really passionate about. Um, and I’m probably working longer hours, uh, now than I have in a long time, but.

[00:52:00] That energizes me. I get life out of that because it’s aligned with who I am. Uh, and I, so I think when we’re busy, a lot of it is misalignment. We’re just giving our time and energy to whatever presents itself, as opposed to saying, is that a align? Does that align with who I am, what matters to me? And if not, like no.

And not yet are perfectly acceptable answers. Right.

Rob: We often do this. We’re gonna wrap up here now, and, and we often, uh, we are we out

Eric: of time?

Rob: Oh no, we’re not. But uh, our time has come up. Uh oh. That’s exactly Wow.

You know, that’s gonna be in there now. Yeah. Uh, no, but as, as we, as we land this plane, I know we’re gonna use whatever language, uh, I want you to. You’re, dude, it’s getting worse. I know. It is. We often, when we have guests, we invite them, uh, to give some final thoughts to actually look into the camera and speak.

To our audience, and I’m gonna ask you guys to do that, [00:53:00] to each of us to take a second and just give that, whether it’s a challenge, a piece of advice, or something that you would say. Uh, and let’s speak directly to the people who are listening in today. Uh, what would you say to them? What would be a piece of advice that you would want to give them?

Hmm.

Kate: I would like just. Figure out what busy means for you and whether that’s a positive or a negative. So we talked about that today on the show, but I do think if you’re living in that space where busy feels overwhelming and you’re not feeling well in your own body, you need to start figuring out and listening to it and listening really hard to what’s not aligned, what’s not aligned with your values.

Eric, you said that really well. I think it’s just you have to start paying attention to how busy feels. Your body.

Eric: Yeah, a hundred percent. And uh, I would say, uh, what’s one thing, I’ve said it earlier on the show, what’s one thing you’re gonna cancel? What’s one thing you’re gonna say no to? What’s one thing you’re gonna take outta your calendar this week?

Um, and we’re gonna put it in the show notes, but, [00:54:00] uh, we’re offering my free Time Reclamation Guide and also my Freedom Blueprint, how to reclaim, uh, five hours a week just by delegating one thing. And I know that sounds like a tall order, uh, but we’ve been using it with leaders getting tremendous results and, and you’ll be able to download that.

Uh, it’ll be in the show notes. Links will be right there.

Wendy: Yeah. I think, uh, my perspective, perspective, that’s a big word, big word. Wendy, would be learning how to delegate more. So whether you are a busy mom, whether you’re a business leader, uh, there’s always opportunities to delegate. There’s always opportunities to take a step back and realize you don’t need to be everywhere all the time.

You are choosing to be everywhere all the time, and there’s always somebody there to help, whether it’s friends. Whether it’s, um, coworkers, um, you don’t need to be everywhere all the time. So really learning how to delegate

Rob: it is love that there is freedom in, in recognizing you have control, right? And you have control of your calendar and you have [00:55:00] control of how your day goes.

Yeah. Uh, we wanna thank all of you for taking the time to prioritize. Uh, this episode. I know it was corny, but. Uh, we wanna encourage you to continue to, to like to, if you haven’t subscribed, subscribe to the channel, uh, to like it, and share out the posts and, and, and, uh, provide your own comments. Uh, if you’re not part of our Living Richly Facebook group, we want encourage you to do that across.

If, if you’re watching this on YouTube, on the screen right now is a link that you can go to to download the Freedom Guide. For those of you that are listening by audio, don’t worry, we haven’t forgotten about you. You’re able to go to the website living richly.me, and, uh, you will find it in the show notes for this, uh, specific episode.

The, uh, the, the link to the guide, uh, that’s a free resource that Eric has written. We use it. Eric and I certainly use it with clients all the time. Uh, they find it so powerful and yes, it has freed up. [00:56:00] Hours of time for clients, uh, and we have so many, so we want to encourage you to take some time to do that.

In the meantime, boy, it’s like get out there and live your best length.