I came across an article in the Huffington Post on how being busy is actually good for your brain.  After reading it, I just so happen to come across another article – again by the Huffington Post – on how being busy makes you unproductive

We just can't win, can we?

The first article, which you can find here, discusses a team at the University of Texas that looked at the difference in memory and other brain functions of men and women.  This was to see how people who are busy compared to those who are not. Lead researcher Sara Festini said “People who report greater levels of daily busyness tend to have better cognition, especially with regard to memory for recently learned information. Living a busy lifestyle appears beneficial for mental function.” I don’t know about that, I can’t remember what I had for breakfast – wait, did I even have breakfast? I guess I am not that busy.

I don't buy it.

The article continues to say that maybe, the busier people are already just more cognitive and capable of doing more tasks. While their counterparts – not so much.  So I have to ask, did they actually learn anything in that research? I am thinking the answer to that is up in the air because the second article goes on to tell me that the busier you are, the less productive you are.  This I agree with. David Meyer from the University of Michigan published a study that showed switching what you are doing, mid-task, actually increases the time it takes you to finish each task by 25%! I firmly believe this and have always said so! Well, I didn’t exactly have the numbers before but now I do.

Science officially backs up my opinion that being busy is bad for business!  You can find this article here. There is no such thing as multitasking and society today believes that you have to multitask to succeed. Pfft. Not true, you have to be able to prioritize and focus to succeed. (In my humble opinion.) When you are busy, you are not really present.  There are a million moments happening around you, some good, some great, some – you’d rather not experience but when you are busy you are not able to be.

When you are busy, you are not really present.

There are a million moments happening around you, some good, some great, some – you’d rather not experience but when you are busy you are not able to be in the moment.  You tend to opt out of opportunities. Which are always around you, but if you are too busy you will end up passing some really good ones by.  Which; in turn, causes your momentum to go stagnant.  You are no longer moving forward, you are just too busy and are bouncing back and forth on task after task not getting much done. I could go on for hours about this but in short, when you are too busy you forget to invest in yourself and your business. It feels like you are because you are so busy, yet you are burning the

I could go on for hours about this but in short, when you are too busy you forget to invest in yourself and your business. It feels like you are because you are so busy, yet you are burning the candle at both ends, not really living and your business is not really growing.

This can cause you to lose patience, lose sight of your endgame, lose quality control on your products or services, shall I go on? When you are too busy you forget your purpose and your “why”.  Your why is the reason you got into business in the first place, right? So, stop, take a moment, slow down, and focus.

With so much on your plate, maybe it is time to start delegating some of your projects or daily tasks. Helping your business grow, simplify your life and ensure you do not lose sight of your why!

Have you considered outsourcing some of your work or possibly hiring a VA? Leave a comment and let us know how you could slow down,  be less busy and grow your business as a result.