If you’re like me, you’re juggling a series of priorities, tasks, people, and tasks, making life incredibly busy. Hey, we’re well into the 21st century and from what I can make out, this is how it’s going to be for a while, still! But are you really getting anywhere? Are your actions moving you forward or are you just “busy”? And there is a difference. I call Action illusion.
The Illusion of Action can happen to the best of us. It’s when you fill your time and space with “occupations” – many different things that fill your time – but how much of that is actual action, rather than an illusion of action? How much of that actually moves you forward in a positive and meaningful way?
Good complaint, you and I know that our time can easily fill up, but is everything okay or is it actually causing us more exhaustion? We need to make sure that what we do makes a positive difference, and if it doesn’t, we need to recognize it and stop it!
Here’s a quick exercise that will help you identify the things you do that are “illusions” of action and those that are real, positive steps forward.
EXERCISE:
1. Draw a circle: the bigger the better. I think this exercise works best if you’re standing, so if you can find a large sheet of paper to pin to the wall to do this on, go for it!
2. Take a pack of sticky notes and for each task you have to do (phone calls, meetings, projects, conference calls, events, kid stuff, partner stuff, house stuff, administration, etc.), write each one down. on a sticky note. Note. It is better to do this as quickly as possible instead of thinking about it too much. Think and write quickly and give each item/task its own note. Place all these sticky notes in the circle.
3. Once you’ve exhausted yourself (literally!), take a step back and take a look at all the Post It’s. Then go through each one and ask yourself this question:
“On a scale of 1 to 10 (1 is ‘almost not at all’ and 10 is ‘completely’), how far is this task getting me/my project/my family/my team/my business forward?
Write the number in red on each sticky note.
4. For any sticky notes that are 7 or less, remove them and place them on the OUTSIDE of the circle.
5. The sticky notes that remain INSIDE your circle are the ones you should keep making, as they positively contribute to your progress in some way. The others are simply illusions of action, contributing to your “busy” feeling but actually producing nothing; in fact, they are likely to cause you more stress!
Now is the time to be brave. Go ahead, I challenge you! Pick one thing out of your circle and be ruthless. Stop doing it. Just stop completely. Give yourself a week not to. At the end of that time, notice what difference has been made as a result of not doing it. Most likely no noticeable difference was made, which only reinforces your decision to stop it!
Then try to choose another one and do the same. One item at a time. You will soon notice the difference in a positive, productive and “Red” person, instead of someone suffering from Action Illusion!
PS This is also great to share with your teams, people you are responsible for or coaching. It really helps to bring you clarity, perspective and motivation. Have fun!