Are you productive or simply busy?

I am a child of the 1960’s decade.  I was born in 1952.  As a child my family moved a lot.  By the time high school graduation rolled around we had lived in Oregon, Texas, Arizona, California, and Georgia.

Dad said Mother wanted to live on the beach In Oregon so she could walk the beach during the winter storms and pick up Japanese floats.  (For those of you not familiar with the Oregon coast people die doing this).

 I remember my childhood as trips to Disneyland, 7 times one summer, and we did not live in California.  Mother and I drove a convertible across Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona one summer time with the top down, because she did not want to disappoint me.  In the sixth grade, Dad took me shopping for all new wool miniskirts; they were the thing to wear.  I lived in Georgia during the Cuban missile crisis.  Long hair, peace signs and protests were all a part of the life I knew.
I also remember, walking home from school, being greeted at the front door by Mother with a plate of hot fresh baked chocolate cookies and milk.  She would sit with us for hours as we talked through our day.

We’d watch “Leave it to Beaver”, “Father Knows Best”, “My Three Sons”, “The Lone Ranger”, “and The Donna Reed Show”.  However one of my favorite shows was “The Jetsons”.   One afternoon I thought, “When I grow up life is going to be so easy!”   I’ll get two robots who can sweep all the crumbs off the floors.  I will only have to push a button for hot chocolate.

Well I grew up, and there are no robots to vacuum floors and you can push a button go to get a cup of hot chocolate, coffee, tea, soup any number of things.  However life is not easy.

Today’s schedules are jam packed.

The alarm goes off somewhere between 5 and 6.  You roll out of bed, shower, shave, brush teeth, blow dry hair, and put on makeup.  Oh yes, get dressed.  Now, wake up the kids, get them dressed, make lunches---forget about making the bed you’re just going to crawl back into it tonight.  Out the door, grab that protein shake; and drink it in the car.

Now it’s time to drop the kids off at school, or day care,  and get to work.  Where you’ll answer the 50 emails that have arrived overnight and then the phones start ringing at 8:01.  There are files, conference calls, lunch at the desk…you get the picture.  Life is simply crazy!

Once you leave work the day doesn’t stop.  Remember to check in with your spouse.  Ask the critical questions, “Who is stopping by the grocery store, picking up the kids from practice, and by the way, what time will you be home?”

We do lots of good things. We do talk to our spouse or significant other. We help the children with homework, clean bathrooms, and wash clothes (so everyone has something to wear tomorrow).  There are parents and siblings we communicate with and we will always take the friend phone call.  They just need a minute.

We are very good intentioned.  However, today’s question, “Are you productive or simply busy?”

Here’s the challenge --- take an hour this weekend and make an inventory of where you spend your time.  It’s only one hour!  Are you focusing on productive stuff  (stuff that matters to you) or is busy stuff driving you.

I have said it before, I will say it again, “Nothing changes, when nothing changes”.  It’s a very true statement.  Continue in the same path and ten years I can tell you where you’ll be.  Right where you are.

Should you take up the challenge this weekend?  Let me know if you do, I’d love to support you!