Over a year ago, I went to see a friend and apologized for not seeing her more often. She asked what I have been up to and I said, “I’m just so busy.” She replied in a laugh, “you do it to yourself.”

That became a turning point for me and my “busy life.”

I realize that successful people are busy. But busy people are not always successful. What it takes is streamlining, focus and ownership. That’s when I decided that I wanted to make better use of my time and create a plan.

Much like a business, our lives need direction. I  like to start with a communications plan and ask myself several questions:

1. What is your goal?
2. What is your objective?
3. What time frame are we looking at?
4. What are your priorities? (target)

So often in our lives, we jump right into the strategies and tactics, forgetting about the overall goal. When the dust from back-to-back social activities settles, we are left with no time for the things that matter most.

There is no harm in being busy, as long as you are busy with purpose. My self assessment resulted with several revolutions:

1. Sometimes, I must tell people NO.
2. I must own up to why I am saying no.
3. It’s okay to change my plan as I go.

Are you busy? Do you know why?