Anton Guinea
Entrepreneur, Speaker, bestselling author, and founder of The Guinea Group of Companies. For over 15 years, Anton has helped leaders move their teams to become psychologically safe, physically safe and overall better versions of themselves.
As if being busy isn’t enough, we are now crazy busy. Which I get, and I know the world is crazy busy. Most of our clients are leading under pressure. Whether it is the pressure of putting people over productivity or the pressure of pushing performance, leaders are struggling to cope.
And their teams are suffering. If the leader is crazy busy, the team members feel that. They will sense the urgency, and the impact of the pressure on the leader. And more importantly, it is seriously had to lead, and to create conscious control, if you are crazy busy.
Now this post is not about time management and helping you be less busy. I am not sure that is the answer. I am going to come at this post from a psychology perspective, and let you know what you can do to feel less crazy busy. Which I think will help you more. I am happy to help you with some time management tips, in coming posts, but for now, let’s talk about the psychology of being crazy busy. And how to not be … (sort of) …
- Change your languaging
Here is your challenge after reading this post. To not have crazy busy on repeat every time someone asks you how you are. I know that will be tough for some. It really has become a default response. “How are you”? “Crazy busy, how are you”?
Now I want you to change your languaging for the sake of others, like your team members. Every time they hear that you are crazy busy, they feel like they either can’t approach you right now, or that they are not your priority. I know, that is sad, right. Words have power in them, and they speak to the emotional part of our brain – the limbic system. Hominins are very intuitive creatures, and they pick up signals quickly and easily, especially through your language.
More importantly, change your languaging for you. Even though you are leading under pressure, and you are busy, find another response. One that feels right to you, and that rolls off your tongue. In response to how are you, try:
- I’m very productive
- I’m happy
- I’m in control
- I’m all over it
- I’m getting it done
It will sound strange at the start, though give it a try, and see what happens. And let me know, please. Let me know how others respond.
- Change your focus
When you are crazy busy, you are focusing on all the things that you don’t have. Like a lack of time, or a lack of some other resources. The universe has a habit of giving you more of what you asked for (aka the book The Secret), and so if you are crazy busy, the universe seems to give you more to do. And again, regardless of your workload, try focusing on all of the things that you have got. Think about how well your team is going or how much they have achieved recently. Or how much you have got done. This one is abit like me in the pool, doing swimming training (which is hard for me, fyi). I always count upwards, instead of down. That is, in my head, I always focus on how far I have come (like 2ks of a 3k set), not how far I have got to go (like 1k still to swim). It is such a great mental trick.
For me, the best tip I can give you on changing your focus, is to get a gratitude journal, and start writing in it. Every day. If you are looking for some more information on this topic, see my radio interview with @The Pulse 94.7 recently (Robert Cameron). You can access that conversation at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HtkW2Tzv3VA.
- Change your priority
Remember that this is not a blog on time management, it is a blog on your psychology, and your personal psychological safety. And your conscious control. Here’s the thing; when you are crazy busy (or just saying you are), it is hard to be in control, and in charge of your emotional and psychological state. Being crazy busy elevates (heightens) your emotional state.
Here are the top three things to prioritise, to help you be less crazy busy. The first thing is breathing. I know, too boring, right. I can’t tell you how many studies and how much research has been done on the power of breath. We now know that meditation (breathing exercises) changes your brain (read that again if you need to). 50% of the leaders I deal with tell me they either can’t or won’t meditate. That is cool. Just breath deeply. Your brain is the biggest user of oxygen in your body, and without oxygenating your frontal lobes, you just don’t think clearly.
The second thing is down time. Take some time to do some self-care. And this topic has been talked about a lot, so another eye roll moment for some. Take this one seriously and watch your business change (or how it feels will change at least). We take this one so seriously that all our coaching clients get some form of self-care as part of their coaching package (like a massage or movie voucher).
The third thing is to get more sleep. Sorry, too boring again. Get more sleep, and watch your emotional state change. I won’t bore you will the studies, but some psychologists will tell you we are on the planet to benefit from sleep, not for our waking hours (there’s a thought).
And if you make not being crazy busy a priority for you, in generally, your state and the state of your team will change for the better! The workload might not, but how you process it will!
Want to learn more about leadership, and how to be less crazy busy?
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