People often ask whether my business keeps me busy. Fortunately, it does not. My aim has always been to have as few obligations as possible and the freedom to choose how I spend my time.
In the Netherlands, where I’m from, that attitude is sometimes mistaken for laziness. I disagree. For me, the point of work is freedom, not busyness. Many people don't seem to think about this.
I try to build my business so that routine work can be automated or delegated. That leaves me more time for the things I enjoy. For example, reading, training, and seeing friends. And often I find myself working on my business again because I like it, but that's not the end goal.
Freedom is my main reason for being an entrepreneur and one of my highest priorities. I don't think it's possible to achieve this when you're trading time for money. I have tried to build a way to “earn money while sleeping.”
https://twitter.com/gijsheerkens/status/1538831257077010433
Being too busy in the short term is understandable. Still, many people always claim to be too busy.
When someone says this all the time, I think three things may be going on:
- They may be exaggerating
- They may need a better plan
- They may struggle to say no
If you have time to watch Netflix, scroll social media or drink beer, you may have more room in your schedule than you think. Sometimes the issue is where you choose to focus. It takes time to achieve things such as being healthy or mastering a topic. A good rule of thumb is to skip as many things that give instant satisfaction as possible.
If planning is the problem, try keeping a calendar. Plan everything, including private events like workouts, cooking, reading and even sleeping. Disable incoming calls because they always distract you instantly and screw up your schedule completely. And don't read your email all day long.
Struggling to say no is the most difficult because it's in your personality to be agreeable and compliant. Refusing things is probably hard for you because it's not in your nature, so maybe you can take an assertiveness course.
So, although the word business comes from busy, a business can be a tool for becoming less busy. A great paradox.
https://twitter.com/ryanstephens/status/1330617051078135812