Self-Care Tip: Three Surprising Ways to Feel Less Busy

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Busyness stinks.

Although people tell me all the time they like feeling busy鈥攑erhaps because it makes them feel important and significant鈥擨鈥檓 not buying it. Would you ever choose busyness over a more relaxed form of productivity? When life starts to feel hectic, here are a few ways to dial back the overwhelm.

1. Give Yourself a Shot of Awe

When researchers induced feelings of awe in people鈥攂y showing them video clips of people next to vast things like whales or waterfalls鈥攊t altered their perception of time such that the people felt like they had more time on their hands. They also report fewer feelings of impatience.

Not sure where to find yourself some awe? Look no farther than YouTube. Try searching 鈥渁we鈥 and 鈥渨hales,鈥 or something else that seems amazing to you. If the concept of 鈥渁we鈥 feels too abstract, try thinking about things that amaze you. What makes you feel a childlike sense of wonder?

2. Create An Anti-Busyness Ritual

Researchers believe that the brains in both humans and animals evolved to feel calmed by repetitive behavior, and that our daily rituals are a primary way to manage stress. This is especially true in unpredictable environments or situations where we feel pressured, a lack of control, or threatened in some way.

When the pace of life seems to be taking off without you, create a ritual to help you feel more in control. What counts as a ritual? Something you do repetitively in certain situations鈥攗sually a series of behaviors done in the same order. Think of your favorite ball player鈥檚 pregame ritual.

3. Find 鈥淔low鈥

Dropping into 鈥渢he zone鈥 or finding flow is the opposite of feeling busy. Time seems to stand still鈥攊f we are aware of time at all. Flow isn鈥檛 as elusive a state as you might think, but it does require that we stop multi-tasking, and that we build a fortress against interruption around ourselves.

I know, I know. You don鈥檛 have time to foster awe, or create an anti-busyness ritual, or stop multi-tasking. You鈥檙e too busy!

Listen: You don鈥檛 have time NOT to do these things. Busyness is a mark of what neuroscientists call 鈥渃ognitive overload.鈥 This state impairs our ability to think creatively, to plan, organize, innovate, solve problems, make decisions, resist temptations, learn new things easily, speak fluently, remember important social information, and control our emotions. In other words, it impairs basically everything we need to do in a given day. So if you have important work to do, please: Take five minutes to dial back your busyness.

By Christine Carter, adapted from: