Product Description

Do you feel stressed, overworked, like you’re running on empty? Are you caught in the race to get it all done—with little time to enjoy the rewards life has to offer?

There’s no doubt about it: these days we are just too busy. With the conveniences of technology, we’re compelled to get more done in less time and end up constantly striving for the next thing – rarely stopping to consider if it’s something we even want. As a result, we end up missing out on the things that truly matter: our relationships, the activities we love, quiet time to reflect and replenish our energy.

Valorie Burton’s How Did I Get So Busy? is the solution for anyone who feels perpetually overwhelmed and overworked: a simple, effective 28-day program to help you rediscover your true priorities, shift out of overdrive, and reclaim your life and schedule. Built around Burton’s “Ten Commandments of Self-Care,” each day presents an easy-to-follow task to help you strip away the meaningless activities that occupy your time and make room for what nourishes you--mind, body, and spirit. The tasks are simple but yield big rewards:

Take a full hour for lunch
Set “no-email” periods
Add fun goals to your to-do list
End your day “on purpose” – meaning that you decide when to leave the office, head home, and fall asleep.

Uplifting and inspiring, How Did I Get So Busy? offers an easy way to be rid of the busywork that fills our days and rediscover the life you’ve always wanted.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #292274 in Books
• Published on: 2007-12-26
• Released on: 2007-12-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 256 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Burton, a certified professional coach (What's Really Holding You Back?), addresses the problem of rushed and overloaded lives in sympathetic, persuasive language, confessing that she, too, was once part of the busyness epidemic. She draws a firm distinction between being successful (reaping financial gain or status) and being fulfilled (living, working and loving in a way that brings you emotional and spiritual satisfaction). Above all, she believes busyness is often based in fear and interferes with the primary job of life: making authentic connections with others. Burton pushes the reader to make deep but simple shifts : taking all your vacation days every year and leaving the office for at least a half-hour during the day will allow you to set healthy boundaries. She outlines what she calls a self-care lifestyle, which promotes living well and in balance. Exercise, good health habits and pampering are crucial, she says. Each of the 28 short chapters ends with a challenge, a five-minute journal exercise and a one-minute meditation. Burton's book is a wakeup call, an effective and inspiring plan for change.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Valorie Burton is a personal life coach and motivational speaker, and the author of Listen to Your Life, What’s Really Holding You Back, Why Not You? and Rich Minds, Rich Rewards. She has served clients in more than thirty states and seven countries and appeared widely in the national media. Visit her at www.valorieburton.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
DAY 1
There Is a Better Way


By the time I get home, cook dinner, check homework, and do a load of clothes, it’s time to get ready for the next day. There’s no time for anything else. If there’s a better way, please tell me what it is!
—Suzanne, 37


Since you are reading this book, you likely recognize that your current lifestyle of busyness and overwork is taking its toll. You’re ready for a break, but unsure of when you can actually have one. Your schedule may sometimes feel like a cycle that never stops repeating itself—Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday… Or perhaps, like I once was, you are in a bit of denial. You don’t think there is a real problem. As soon as you get through this next crunch period, you insist, all will be well. But when the “crunch period” ends, for some reason, you are still as busy as ever. All is not well! You are exhausted and it's time for a change. For years, when people would mention how busy they thought I was, I would insist that it wasn't that bad. I had time for myself. They just didn’t understand, I reasoned. But the truth is that I was defensive. And whenever you are defensive about the casual comments people make, there is probably an underlying issue that needs to be addressed.

Let’s start by defining what I mean by busy. Being busy is different from hurrying, being productive, hardworking, or rushed—although a busy person may be all of those things. Webster’s Dictionary describes the word “busy” as follows:

Dictionary Definition
1. Actively or fully engaged or occupied; “busy with her work”; “a busy man”; “too busy to eat lunch”; “the line is busy.”

2. Overcrowded or cluttered with detail; “a busy painting”; “a fussy design.”

3. Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner; “an interfering old woman”; "bustling about self–importantly making an officious nuisance of himself”; “busy about other people’s business.”

4. Crowded with or characterized by much activity; “a very busy week”; “a busy life”; “a busy street”; “a busy seaport.”

5. (Of facilities such as telephones or lavatories) Unavailable for use by anyone else or indicating unavailability; “her line is busy”; “the lavatory is in use”; “kept getting a busy signal.”


Reality
1. As in, you are too occupied to have space for anything else in your life.

2. As in, a life that is too cluttered, crowded, and complicated for you to have clarity and calm.

3. As in, fighting unnecessary battles, concerning oneself with things that are not central to your purpose, and allowing others to drain your energy.

4. As in, simply having a great deal on your plate.

5. As in, unavailable to the people who matter most or the opportunities you should take advantage of.


So, in many ways, being busy is characterized by being unavailable for anything else, being fully occupied so that there is no room for anything other than that in which you are already engaged. A life that is too busy is overcrowded and overloaded. In an effort to keep up, we often get through our days in overdrive.

“But that’s just the way my life is,” you protest, “and I don’t see how I can live it any differently. All my friends and coworkers are the same way. How can I really be too busy if it’s normal?” Yes, it’s normal, but that doesn't mean we shouldn’t change it! If you’re not sure if you are really too busy, just check for some of the telltale signs. How many of these describe you?


• Your breathing is shallow.
• You never seem to be able to get anywhere on time.
• You forget things easily.
• You use your vacations, weekends, or holidays to “catch up.”
• Friends or family members complain that you don’t have time for them.
• You no longer have the energy to do the things you love to do because they just feel like more items on your to–do list.
• You feel scattered or unable to concentrate.
• You regularly make mistakes, lose things, and waste money because you are in a hurry.


Sometimes it can feel as though you are stuck in a rut of overactivity. But you are not stuck. Your life can look very different in just a few short weeks. It’s all about the choices you make and the steps you are willing to take forward day by day. It is a joy for me to get to walk alongside you on these pages as you make your shift. Like you, I’ve had my struggles with overload and overdrive. And I know firsthand that it is possible to be productive without living a cluttered, crowded life. In fact, it’s not just possible. I believe it will happen for you.


My Story

Just as I began to write this book about busyness, my already full life became suddenly fuller. My husband and I found a house in a seaside community that we love—so we bought it, sold our house, and moved—all in less than forty days. We had not been planning to move; the circumstances just unfolded and we followed the desires of our hearts. Then two days before the move, a routine physical led to a life–threatening discovery in my family: Doctors informed my father that he had a previously undetected and rare birth defect that, by all accounts, should have taken his life as a child. Miraculously, he was still alive, but he would need corrective open–heart surgery right away to fix it. He stayed with us in the new house during his recovery. Meanwhile, speaking and coaching requests were suddenly more abundant than ever, and I found myself preparing for a speaking schedule that would take me to twelve cities in seven weeks. My biggest concern was for my father—a mix of gratitude and fear. Although my father and all of us around him felt grateful to have discovered this potentially fatal problem so that it could be corrected, and confident that he would make it through, I was still nervous about the prospect of my father going through such a serious surgery. Combined with the move and upcoming schedule, it was a whirlwind of activity. Coincidentally, I had scheduled that entire month to be off—something I’d planned for nearly a year. Although I didn’t spend the month with the free time I’d hoped for, the clear schedule gave me the margin I needed to handle a special move to a place we love and the time I needed to be there for my father. It felt so good to have the time to focus on the people and things that really mattered during that time.

I wish I could say that my struggle with busyness was only due to outside pressure, but truth be told, it seems I was wired that way from the time I was a child. As long as I could remember, it seemed my life had been overloaded and in overdrive. I was the kid who took many more classes than she needed to graduate from high school, participated in a sport every season, and juggled student council and at least three other extracurricular activities simultaneously. My parents never pushed me to do it; I was driven on my own, maybe to a fault. Going home right after school was a foreign concept to me. I typically made it home after six or seven every evening and spent many weekends cheering at games, competing in track meets, gymnastics meets, and pageants—and pursuing modeling when I could squeeze it in.

Not surprisingly, I grew up to continue my overload habit into adulthood. By twenty–one, I had finished graduate school. Two years later I quit my job and began working for myself full–time. I replaced a heavy class load and traded student council for professional associations, business meetings, and fund–raising events. I accomplished a lot, but at a great price. I was so focused on the destinations along my path that I usually didn’t enjoy the journey much. The focus always seemed to be on the next frontier. The combination of overload and overdrive was overwhelming. And honestly, even though I often looked like I was doing a lot, much of my time was wasted on busy work. There is a difference between being busy and being fruitful or productive. Although I was productive, I was also unnecessarily busy. I procrastinated to the very last minute on many projects, yet managed to get them done well under pressure.

Every few years I seemed to hit a wall. I felt burned out, frustrated—even angry at times. But what was I angry about? No one forced me to pile on the activities and responsibilities. Each time, I created my circumstances and then rebelled against them. I stacked up achievements, but was not satisfied. I had friends, but craved a deeper connection. I was working hard, but yearned to make more money for my efforts. I had a successful business, but little time for success in love. I was oblivious to the idea that life does not have to be lived in a hurry because there was simply always too much to do.

At that time, I didn’t know any other way to live than to be busy and on–the–go at all times. I wanted to slow down, but I was afraid I would miss out on something. What, exactly, I didn’t know. But as I began peeling back the layers, I discovered that my habitual busyness was a result of several unrelated but intertwined issues. I had never known anything else. I valued achievement more highly than joy, which led to speeding toward the finish line of every project, goal, or task without regard for the gift of the journey. I had bought into the belief that taking on more work, projects, or activities validated my worth, abilities, and potential. Certainly there is nothing wrong with being industrious, but beware when busyness becomes a self...

Customer Reviews

Slow down...and get this book!
This is an inspiring book about how to identify those things that keep us overly busy in life. Valorie Burton addressed various aspects and effects of busyness that spiritually, mentally, physically and emotionally affect us and our relationships. Chapter topics ranged from procrastination and to-do lists to celebrating milestones in life and creating a self-care lifestyle. I appreciated the personal stories Ms. Burton incorporated in the book. I could relate extremely well when she discussed being in a constant state of overdrive and jumping from one activity/goal/achievement to the next, without enjoying the journey.

The bite-sized chapters were ideal, especially for those of us who don't have a lot of time in our schedules for leisure reading. Each chapter offered very practical tips that can be immediately applied to any jam-packed schedule. My copy of the book included a "One-Minute Meditation" at the end of each chapter, which was a Bible scripture that corresponded with the chapter topic.

I highly recommend this book to anyone looking for simple, practical ways to slow down, re-evaluate their busy schedule and enjoy life again.

A realistic way to get your life on track
I was not looking for this type of a book when I bought it but when I saw the title and read the note from the author of "Dear reader, I trust that our paths have crossed for a reason" I knew that I was meant to read it.
I first read this book about a year ago and have since read it three more times. I recently started using it as a discussion book for our church adult education program that I am leading due to being inspired by this book's message.
I am not going to say that this book will give you free time that you won't know what to do with but it will help you to prioritize you busy schedule so that you have more times for the foundation of fullfilment, that being your focus on "Faith, Family and Friends"
Although I feel that it is a faith-based book, I did not find it preachy and merely made you focus on what is really important in your life and spending quaility time where it is important.

Very Helpful!
When I first saw "How Did I Get So Busy?" I knew it was a book I needed to read. Even with all that was going on in my life that contributed to my busy-ness (wife, mother, student), I knew that I needed to make the time to read this book. I am so glad that I did! This book has really made a positive difference in my life, and continues to do so even as I reflect on the lessons I learned. No matter what is contributing to your busy-ness, this book is for everyone. If you want things to change, they won't until you put forth the effort to make the change happen. Stop waiting for the right timing to happen. Make the right timing happen! This book is very enjoyable to read and the structured format is so helpful! I highly recommend "How Did I Get So Busy?"