It's hectic, busy and frantic - for some

A colleague I'm sponsoring by providing mentoring services cancelled our scheduled session for today.

Something or someone else was a higher priority and so I got 'bumped', again. 

The bumping I get over; but in reviewing other comments about the bumping and other reschedules I read words like 'hectic', 'busy' and 'frantic'. 

What's with all the busy-ness? 

According to a nice read in Time Magazine this week it's (ironically) not about the time! It's about bandwidth AND time. They're two different things and we need to slice and dice and handle and manage both of them. You need to be present while you're present or you're not really present!

Also today in my local metropolitan daily there was a piece (via Harvard Business Review) on how we need to stop complaining about how busy we are. 

I enjoyed the 'I'm more important than you' reference because 'I'm busier than you'. 

Yes, I'm busy but I am also incredibly focused on making the best use of the time (and preparing to have plenty of bandwidth). I have needed to run my business, keep my appointments, facilitate two workshops, get married, have two parties, pack and prepare for time away and other 'admin' stuff in the past five days. But I would never be hectic, busy or frantic about it.

I'm leveraging productivity tools and programs, outsourcing services, delegating tasks, prioritising constantly and my favourite... (which I learned in a time management program when I was starting my first job) using 'calculated neglect'. 

Some things just don't or won't get done. Other things are SO gonna get done. 

I'm very conscious of the 'currency' I apply when I'm choosing what I'll do and what I won't do. Is this about now or the future? Is this a short term or longer term win? Will this matter in a day, week, month or year? 

I like reflecting on my values on this too - why I choose and prioritise the way I do. I completed the the Minessence Values Inventory earlier in the year and everything is crystal clear : I know what's important to me. Prioritising is a breeze.

And now to shift the mood of my day from someone not 'picking me', my very next mentoring client was: on time, had completed the set tasks, had specific questions for clarification and was clear about what was next on his agenda. Now THAT was a breeze. I can be impactful, focused and provide great service. I can do my best work - without being hectic, busy or frantic. 

I think being 'busy' is a great opener for another deeper conversation - your priorities, values and what's really important. 

** And as a footnote, some more brilliant and entertaining reading on the topic from Rajesh Setty