Yesterday, I did a podcast interview with my friend Rog Law, owner of Rog Law Fitness. I loved it because we got to delve into some suuuper deep mindset stuff. And I shared a lot of my views on things like ambition, confidence, self-doubt, loss, business, the fitness hustle, productivity, focus, stress and distraction. Many things I’ve not shared before. So it was extremely enjoyable for me in a new way, and Rog is hilarious, so that helped. Definitely check it out.

But one thing I shared on the interview is the difference between being busy and being productive.

I think I used to think they were the same. And I used to think that being busy meant I was worthy. I was adding value, I was important if my calendar was filled. Seriously, for years, I keep a homemade excel spreadsheet broken down into 15-minute time slots starting at 5am and going until 10pm each day. No joke. As someone who was personal training up to 12 clients a day and teaching a dozen fitness classes a week, on top of working a 35-hour a week job, each day was filled to the brim.

I made a habit of saying yes. A client needed me at a specific time? No problem. Gotta change your time slot to Friday night at 8pm? Sure thing. You need me to sub some extra classes this week? I got you.

I took pride in taking on more and more. I loved being the busiest! I loved the attention of being the hardest worker, the person doing the most, taking on anything and everything and being the martyr.

I didn’t realize it at the time because it was all I knew and when you derive your sense of self-worth and meaning by doing a specific thing, you don’t want to change. Why would you? EVEN in the face of the stress, resentment and victimhood I embraced.

And being busy gave me a false sense of importance. If people need me at all hours of the day, I must be valuable, right? But this becomes a trap. Because it wasn’t that other people needed me, so much as I needed people to need me. I needed to be needed to feel important. If my calendar was full, what I was doing meant something.

And here’s the thing: it absolutely did. Personal training and teaching classes and working in the corporate world absolutely do matter. We can and do make a huge difference for others. But that says nothing about how effective we are in our own lives. How can I ever feel like I am getting better, improving as a human, leveling up in my own personal and professional life when I have no time or mental energy to even think of how to do that? When I am spinning my wheels?

And while I value the experience I gained during the 10 years I did the Fitness Hustle, at some point, it became apparent that I had to evaluate my effectiveness in what I was doing. I had to take a hard look at the difference between busy and productive. I had to face that that while my schedule was full, my outcomes—the things I accomplished—were staying the same. For all the effort I was putting out, I was not achieving.

Because I wasn’t focused. I couldn’t get focused.

How could I? Working 5am to 9pm daily, grinding it out, chasing money constantly and never protecting my time? Write a blog? Are you insane? It was all I could do take a shower and cook an egg-white omelet at the end of the day (ha!).

In 2007, I read two books that changed how I viewed time and energy: ‘The Power of Full Engagement’ by Tony Schwartz and ‘The Four Hour Work Week’ by Tim Ferriss. These were the first advocates I had for working smarter, not longer. These resources and the wisdom contained in them was the first bit of permission I felt to stop grinding it out, head down, working my life away with nothing to show for it.

SIDE NOTE: Other books I recommend in this space: 'The Power of Habit' by Charles Duhigg, 'Essentialism' by Greg McKeown and 'The One Thing' by Gary Keller.

I took so much away from those books (and other resources since then, including my personal experience), I want to share with you some of my take-aways:

Ever have a project that you are doing, and for whatever reason, you are totally averse to working on it? It’s like even thinking about doing it makes you anxious. I definitely have. And for me, it’s always been a result of kind of sort of half-ass working on it all the time. I never finish it, but I never feel fully focused on it either. And because it’s unfinished, it looms.

This scenario sucks. But it’s a direct result of using what ends up being 50% of our brain power 24/7, with zero mental breaks. Instead, alternate periods of 0% brain power, with period of laser focus 100% brain power. You'll achieve more, for less time spent.

So how do you cultivate focus?

Wait for it … you do less. Well, you actually end up doing more in the long run because alternating periods of mental recharge with periods of intense #GSD creates greater outcomes. You achieve more in less time.

Scared to try it? Scared to give up the busy?

I feel you. I felt that way for a long time. Plus, on top of it, my self-worth was wrapped up in being the busiest person I knew and taking on more than anyone else. So that makes it even harder to try a new way – how do you feel worthy without it? – but in the name of actually getting shit done and feeling effective, you have to give up the need to cram your schedule.

Some examples of easy ways to take mental downtime without overhauling your entire life:

There are a bunch of other ways, but I wanted to share some simple things you might be able to fit into your current lifestyle right now. In this case, a little truly does go a long way.

Why not try? You have nothing to lose. The old, hectic way will always be there for you! ;)

If you feel like you need more direction and help managing your energy and increasing your productivity (less time, better outcomes), I highly recommend grabbing a coveted spot in my friend, and stress management expert, Sarah Garton’s course, SH(I)NE, an 8-week online program designed to help you streamline everything in your life, from exercise to nutrition, to relationships and sleep.

Stress has an impact on our productivity, happiness and focus that often we don’t notice until it’s too late, as in Sarah’s case. An an ex-corporate excutive and reforming Busiest Person in the World, Sarah’s brain child, SH(I)NE provides all the best practices in energy management and effectiveness.

Let me know if you have any questions! And as always, respond back to me and let me know how you are doing with your busy. Where are you with this stuff? What’s working? What’s not? What are you implementing? In what ways are you paring things back and getting strategic? I want to know, hit me up!

Xo,

Jill