Crystal Andrus | Author | International Motivational Speaker | Women’s Health Advocate | Fitness Expert | Nutritionist

A few weeks ago, I was driving down a country road near my home. In the distance, I noticed a woman at the end of her long, dirt driveway. She was standing in the ditch with a rake in her hand. As I approached, I watched as she furiously stoked the dry grass that was beginning to spring back to life. I scanned her front yard and spied a small run-down house, close to a quarter-of-a-mile back from the road; the house was dilapidated, with junk all around—rusting cars, tools, and garbage. I shockingly looked back to this woman, who had to be in her late 60s, working like mad to clean the ditch. I shook my head and reminded myself that being busy has nothing to do with being productive or effective!

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Okay, so maybe you aren’t wasting time raking your ditch when your house needs a total overhaul … but just how effective are you each day at creating a life of joy, prosperity, great health, love, and intimacy? The statements I hear most, from women who aren’t happy with the current state of their lives are: “I just don’t have enough time!” or “I’m just too busy.”

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Being busy is very different from being productive!

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I can truly say that I too have a very full life! But what I can say with even more conviction is that I have an extremely productive life! I am effective at time managing myself so that every day I fit in yoga, meditation, a bubble bath, eating healthy meals, walking my dogs, spending time with my daughters, loving my husband, working on my projects, and connecting on FACEBOOK and TWITTER. Most days I can also fit in a run and/or a half hour or so, relaxing outside in the sunshine or sitting by a bonfire.

I live in a beautiful home, with beautiful gardens (I even grow my own vegetables), and I adore my seven pets—four dogs and three cats! I don’t have a housekeeper or cleaning lady. I don’t have a chef or gardener. And I don’t have a personal trainer or therapist. I don’t even have my retreats catered. (Not that all these things aren’t wonderful!!!)

What I do have is a very balanced life, strong boundaries, clear priorities, organized scheduling, and effective time-management. I have a supportive and wonderful husband (this is huge!), amazing staff—whom I have hand-selected, a career that lights me up and rarely feels like “work”, a retreat/yoga center located next door to my home (I spend no time commuting), two amazing daughters who have a mom who’s here every day when they get in from school, along with an overwhelming faith in the Universe—God—that I will always be provided for as long as I seek balance, joy, integrity, passion, and honesty in all that I do.

I set goals and realistic time-lines for achieving my goals. I let the “small stuff” fall to the way-side. In other words, I don’t worry about the “ditch”! I honor my body, my marriage, my children, my staff, my clients, and my home. I know that time is my most precious commodity and I’ve learned how to effortlessly and graciously say “no” to anything that doesn’t serve me. But more than all of these things, I’ve created synergy. I’ve created support. I’ve created a team!

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I couldn’t have created a life like this without my team!

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So, the questions to ask yourself, if you are wondering “How can I have a life like this too?” are: Are you more concerned with being right, proving you can do it all alone, being a martyr, being scared, trading your time for money rather than focusing on deals not dollars, mistrusting, worrying about failing, worrying about succeeding, worrying, worrying, worrying … all the while, not wanting anyone to see your worries? Are you too busy with things that don’t add to your life force? Do you watch too much TV, talk too much on the phone, gossip too much, TWITTER or FACEBOOK too much, complain, blame, wait, worry, wonder, hope, fear? Have you convinced yourself that life is too hard; that you can’t have it all; that the “good life” is for other people—not you? Are you too busy waiting to start really living until you lose 20 pounds or make an extra $20,000? Are you too busy running from yourself—from your needs, dreams, feelings, wants, desires, hopes, fears, guilt and shame? Are you too busy being busy to notice that life is passing you by and you aren’t living a productive, effective, wonderfully fulfilling life?

Will you stop today and reconsider things?

Will you?

Or are you too busy with the “other stuff”? Too busy with things that don’t add to your life force; that don’t lift you up and help you rise above the mundane to create and sustain a life of greatness, balance, joy, and abundance? Are you too busy in the ditch? Only YOU can do this for you! Only YOU decide how you will spend your 24 hours called a day. Remind yourself that life is simply one day after another—and how you spend today is indicative of your life!

I send you my love and prayers that you will decide what matters most to you—even if you aren’t living it right now, and that you will find the faith to trust in yourself, in life, and in others. Trust is the seat of the soul … Trust is what you are made of …

Love,
Crystal

Tags: balanced life, being busy, being productive, effective time management, organized scheduling, productive life, time management, too busy

This entry was posted on Sunday, July 4th, 2010 at 2:41 am and is filed under Mind. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.