Written by: Oddný Edwards, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I have noticed lately that no matter where I am or whom I am with I hear how busy everyone is, and worse. It has even been brought to my attention that so often we don’t allow kids to get bored. They have to be busy all the time.
I remember getting so bored as a kid I would create stuff from nature. Back in my home country we would even get so imaginative that old sheep jaws, nature had claimed, we used as a pretend horse and giddy giddy on we would with our imaginary elf friends. (whole different story) Of course reading this now I can see why Iceland is full of creatives!
However, there is something in what we now label as boredom. Space, calm, stillness, free flowing energy and most importantly the room for exploring ideas.
I am as guilty as the next person though. I have caught myself wanting to reply when asked how I am doing. “Oh I am just so busy.” If someone comes to my desk I can feel my heart sink and I am thinking oh gosh! I am so busy!
But here is the thing. Is it deeper than that? Are we compensating for not feeling enough? That we have attached being and feeling busy with a worth tag? I am worth more, and others will think more of me if I am always busy?
The same with children? Do we feel like we aren’t enough if we aren’t entertaining them all the time?
As a business owner and a worker, I accept that I must make sacrifice and juggle time. However, I am choosing this. I chose to start and launch my own businesses. I chose to work full-time. I choose to do exercise outside of work and I chose to have this life, but the fact remains that I still don’t feel like I do and am enough.
I get caught up in watching feeds, listening to podcasts and comparing. The deal was never good enough, I could be doing more. Constantly feeling like I am not doing enough. So I bury myself in needless tasks and say I am busy.
I am busy – that is not a lie. However how much of that is busy being busy to feel better and more important? Probably more than I care to admit.
Hence now I own it. I own having days where I don’t do as much, and I fight my guilt and I act as a tree. Drink water, smile to the sun and allow personal and business growth to happen a little guilt free-er. I take time out to watch the birds and breath in nature. After all my business was born from a moment sitting in middle of nowhere in Costa Rica breathing in the magic of nature. I was stood there doing nothing but breathing. Bam! The idea of Oskubox that later was to evolve to Öskuhús was born!
Here are my tips when you catch yourself feeling like you need to be busy being busy:
Smile at yourself and have a giggle – no one really cares if you are busier than them. Sorry to be so blunt. All that matters is getting the task or job done in so many cases. Do the best you can, and most often the best work we do is when we feel confident. Smiling brings out confidence
Stop everything you are doing. Breathe and walk away even if for 1 minute. (In the restaurant if we all started flapping, I used to make everyone put down their pans and stop everything they were doing for 1min. It was remarkable how that one minute would restore the balance. Without a word we got back to work.)
Good old List – make a list of what needs to be done and what can wait
Do 2 of what needs to be done and 1 of the things that can wait. – This way I feed the busy monster and love myself by not discarding the smaller tasks
Identify what made you need to be busy being busy. If it was a task, person or a day you felt inferior – look at using the time you have to learn more about that topic. If it was you didn’t feel enough, remember we all have the same feelings so don’t waste your time feeding that energy and find ways to appreciate yourself.
There will always be days where we are so busy, we can hardly even go to the loo! Trust me having had my own eatery I have had plenty of them but I also look back and think about the times I could have worked smarter.
Hence now when my desk piles up with work and I hear people being so busy that they can’t even respond to e-mails or have conversations about work we are all trying to do together. I smile, walk away, breathe for a minute, and remind myself that I don’t have to follow suit. I can get my work done, leave with enough time to energize myself, and enjoy the little moments whatever that task requires.
Oddný Edwards, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Oddný Edwards is an award-winning Chef and Creator. Born in Iceland where she was taught to respect and learn from nature. When she was sixteen, Oddny moved to Hawaii, immersing herself in an organic flower and herb farm. Here she learned even more how to live off the land, and about the diverse trees and their ability to feed and medicate us. Armed with this knowledge Oddný set out to save trees. Starting with the ash tree. She opended a restaurant and cafe with focus on edible trees and has launched her own products infused with ash trees in hope to rescue them. Turns out the ash tree is full of medicinal properties.
