Overcoming Busyness–3 Tips to Reclaim Your Life

Over the last few days I’ve come across the theme of busyness in blog posts and books I’ve read as well as Scopes and other videos I’ve watched. Because I’m personally struggling with setting a consistent schedule for myself, I have tuned in to learn how I can overcome busyness and pursue the life God intends for me to live.

One resource I’ve come across is the book Breaking Busy by Alli Worthington. I would definitely add this to my list of favorite time management books because it gets to the heart of our time management problems…busyness.

I’ve not finished the book yet, but I want to share what I’ve learned and discovered about my own life so far. Maybe some of what I’ve learned will resonate with you.

This is my favorite quote from the book:

I’ve spent years goofing off on Pinterest and admiring other people’s lives on Facebook instead of investing in my own life.

When I read that I immediately thought of my love/hate relationship with Facebook. On one hand it’s a great tool to connect with people. On the other, it can be a time waster and a source of discontentment.

For me personally Facebook has been the number one source of distraction that has not allowed me to move forward on my own goals nor has it encouraged me to invest in my own life.

So, I know (truthfully I’ve known this for a while) that I need to make drastic changes in how I use Facebook. I mentioned Wednesday that I plan to be on it very little during the season of Lent. Well, now that I feel even more convicted of my use, I’ve got to take it further.

I can still interact with my blog page through the Facebook Pages app. I don’t have to see my personal news feed to see what’s going on with my page. I can also use the messages app to send and receive messages from those who use that method for communication.

Here are some other takeaways from the book that will help me overcome busyness:

1) Realize I don’t have to do it all.

I’ve been much better about not taking on any more than I can handle, but there is always room for improvement. One thing Alli pointed out is that even Jesus didn’t do it all. He left towns and villages without healing everyone because He knew his true purpose.

One area I can improve is in delegating chores to my kids. They have a few things they are responsible for, but I can definitely hand over more duties to them. Not only will it help me out, it will also train them to be on their own and give them confidence that they can take care of their own home.

2) Learn to do the things that restore me, not drain me.

While there are some tasks I do not particularly care for as a wife, mom, and homemaker, I am still willing to do them because they are necessary. However, there are things I’ve committed my time to that absolutely drain me. These activities sounded good at the time I first made the commitment. However, I’ve learned that I need to choose activities that fit within my giftedness and strengths.

There are a lot of good things in which to be involved. Some would say they are even great because they further God’s Kingdom. But if we are doing tasks or taking on roles that are meant for someone else, they become draining.

I am examining my current commitments to see if there is anything that is draining me. I know from experience that having an overwhelmed calendar with events or tasks that do not restore me makes it much harder for me to tackle my work every day. Truly I can lose my joy because I’m so bogged down in doing things I have no business doing. I want to choose a life of purpose and peace. Not hurry and hustle.

3) Decide what’s most important in my life in this season.

Our roles will change over time. That’s a given.  What I need to do now looks much different than what I needed to do when my kids were younger.

In each season of life we need to decide what’s most important. Right now, for me, it’s training my kids to be more independent and ready to be on their own when they graduate from high school. It is also important for me to continue to develop them spiritually. It’s not the church’s job to do this. It starts in the home.

Also, my husband and I need to begin thinking about what we are going to do together as a couple after the kids leave home. We want to be open to whatever God calls us to do in that season of life.

Knowing that our seasons of life will change gives us the opportunity to say “no” to some things now so we can say “yes” to them later in the appropriate season.

I hope you’ll check out Alli’s book. I know there is much more to be learned and put into practice to live a life of purpose and peace. But with God’s grace, I’ll get there one step at a time.