How to Stop Using “Busy” as an Excuse

Have you ever uttered the words, “But, I just don’t have enough time,” or, “I just can’t take on one more thing…”?{RAISES HAND}I’m honestly embarrassed to say that I’ve said those things - recently actually. These are words I used to NEVER say because I PRIDED myself on being busy. Shoot, I worked 40+ hours per week, with an hour commute every day, coached after school sports, had multiple businesses I was building, AND I’m a wife + mom of 2 kids.If anyone had a reason to say they were too busy, it was me. But, I never used it as an excuse…Oh, NEWSFLASH…The words, “I’m too busy…” - IT’S AN EXCUSE… NOT A REASON.Ooooh, dropping truth bombs all over the place up in here…When I was BUSY, I NEVER used it as an excuse. But, it’s funny how quickly things shifted now that I was able to get the time flexibility I was craving.Recently, I found myself say those exact words to my upline + mentor.“I’ve just been so so busy…”Which is absolutely true - I took on WAY too much and was just trying to keep my head above water.But, I was using “busy” as an excuse to NOT do something that, frankly, I didn’t want to do because I was SCARED to do it.And that’s why BUSY is just NOT an reason. It’s an excuse. Because anything worth doing or worth building does not accept excuses.And I don’t know about you, but I’m trying to build a shampoo empire over here… so “busy” just can’t be a word in my vocabulary.But, I don’t just want to leave you with, “Don’t say you’re too busy! Stop using excuses!” I want to give you tangible advice that you can take away that can HELP you STOP making excuses and get shtuff DONE - NO EXCUSES!The one thing I believe in more than anything when it comes to planning your day or building a business… you MUST figure out your priorities. What are the MOST important things that you need to do to achieve your goals - whether that’s just surviving the day with your kids or building a shampoo empire with me.Sometimes, these things can be HABITS. According to the Google dictionary, a habit is, “a settled or regular tendency or practice, especially one that is hard to give up.” These are things like your morning routine, or for my business, my POWER HOUR. It’s a list of things that I need to do every single day in order to move my business forward. I’ve determined the things that I need to be doing every single day in my business that help me build my team, sell products, and support my people. It’s become a HABIT, but it’s also a priority. It’s one of the things that I SCHEDULE in, rather than just one more thing to cross off my to-do list.But, sometimes, those priorities change every single day. We have a to-do list a mile long, and I don’t know about you, but as an Enneagram 9, if my to-do list is long, I am PARALYZED and can’t even get started. #truefactSo, instead of trying to figure out where to get started and not get anything done, I pick the THREE most important things I need to get done TODAY. Not a week from now, or tomorrow, or next year… TODAY.Let’s put this into action…What are the things you do every single day that help you achieve your goals? This can be BIG THINGS, similar to my POWER HOUR. Or, this can be little things, like doing a load of laundry daily or spending 20-minutes cleaning one area of your house everyday (these are habits I’ve created and use that have helped me stop using the “I’m too busy” excuse). Write down a few things that you want or NEED to do on a regular basis and SCHEDULE THEM IN.Now, think about your to-do list - the things that once you check off your list, you don’t have to worry about it ever again. From your to-do list, pick THREE THINGS (no more than 3) that you can work on TODAY. And I’m not talking about a HUGE project… I’m talking about the individual tasks that will move you closer to finishing that project. Sometimes mine are writing my content for next week, and other times they are the smaller tasks for a client project I am working on. Whatever it is, figure out the THREE that you can accomplish today, and then take PRIDE when you complete them and cross them off your list!And girl, STOP MAKING EXCUSES FOR NOT GETTING THINGS DONE. Your excuses are getting you nowhere FAST… Fight the urge to say you’re too busy and create the habits + priorities you NEED that will help you achieve your goals + dreams! NOW GO CHANGE THE WORLD!