The Myth of Busyness

In our culture, busyness is often seen as a badge of honor. We wear our packed schedules and long to-do lists as a sign of our importance and productivity.

But busyness is not the same as effectiveness. In fact, the two are often at odds.

When we are constantly busy, we have no time to think, to be creative, or to focus on what's truly important. We are in a constant state of reaction, putting out fires and responding to the demands of others.

The truth is, any task will expand to fill the time we give it. If we give ourselves eight hours to do a task, it will take eight hours. If we give ourselves four hours, it will often take four hours.

To escape the cult of busyness, we need to:

• Question the assumption that busyness equals productivity.
• Be ruthless in protecting our time and attention.
• Focus on doing a few things well, rather than many things poorly.
• Create space in our schedules for deep work and creative thinking.
• Define what "enough" is for our schedule and stick to it.

A _Company of One understands that the goal is not to be busy, but to be effective. By working smarter, not harder, we can achieve more and live a more fulfilling life.