Last week I offered you insight into how using the word busy can sabotage your weight loss as well as your productivity. This week I want to share some top tips to help you STOP being busy and START generating emotions that will keep you not only on track with your weight loss goal, but also more productive with your tasks.
If you haven’t already, you might like to head back and read my last article titled Is the word busy making you overeat? You may be curious what the term busy is creating in your life. It might just make some of the below material make more sense for you too.
If the use of the word busy is generating emotions of dread, stress, overwhelm or self-pity for you, then there is a high chance that you are spending some time in your day trying to escape from these. That may look like spending more time in the kitchen grabbing a ‘pick me up’ or delving into a chocolate bar in an attempt to ‘feel better’.
Another common escape method is just quickly checking social media, only to realise 30 minutes has gone by, Jane had an amazing holiday and you are still stuck here in the land of ‘busy’. Sound familiar? Maybe her name wasn’t Jane.
Don’t panic, you have a human brain and it is doing what it is wired to do – seek pleasure and avoid pain! Dreading a busy day can definitely be constituted as pain by our brains and cause you to seek pleasure but with the cost of putting on a few pounds.
Below are some top tips to stop being busy and generate new emotions that see you…dare I say it…steaming ahead with your to-do list and honouring the commitment you made to lose weight and take care of yourself.
Change the word Busy to Something Else
Like I suggested in my last article, busy for most people does not generate great emotion, so change the word to something else. I like to use the word dynamic, or say ‘I have an action-packed schedule’. This creates feelings of motivation, excitement and focus.
When I am focussed and present as opposed to stressed, snappy and scatty, I am able to plan and be more strategic in my day. Being strategic means I am far more likely to plan my meals so that they give me fuel that feels good in my body and make me feel strong and in control rather than grab for the nearest biscuit.
Decide how you want to feel about your day
It sounds simple right? But often when we think we are busy, we are not as intentional about our thoughts and you may hurry through your day focussing on all the things you are not achieving. You have power over your day by how you choose to think about it. Why not try practicing one of the below when you get up in the morning.
- Today is going to be a great/ dynamic day.
- I am confident in my ability to … today.
- I am good at helping others.
- My drive and ambition allow me to achieve my goals.
- Today is the day I will feel proud of myself for…
- Being me is enough / I am important.
- I put my energy into things that matter to me.
Do things because you want to not because you have to
Acknowledging this has literally changed the way I see my schedule. Everything I do is a choice. Everything you do is a choice. You may want to argue, but there is nothing that you HAVE to do. You don’t have to pay taxes, work or look after your children. It is your choice to do these things.
You make these choices each day because if you didn’t do these things, there are consequences like fines for not paying tax, losing your children, or homelessness.
Changing your mindset from having to, to wanting to is empowering. When you think we have a choice, it offers a feeling of control and buy in. It gives you ownership over your life and the action that you choose to take in it.
So, when you have a dynamic day or week, remind yourself that it is a choice, and you want to do the things on your schedule. Watch your mood change.
recognise feelings in your body created by the word busy
Connect with yourself and see if you can experience the feeling in your body that is created when you start thinking you are busy, or super busy. I experience feelings in my chest and neck. It is a fast feeling, quite panicky and I do not take great actions when I feel like this. I am snappy with my children, rush around from room to room, try to do more than one thing at once (which very rarely works), and I generally forget or miss things then followed closely by a dig at myself for not being good enough.
After practicing the skill of allowing my emotions, I am able to catch the feeling in my body. I let it tell me what is going on with me. My feelings are always caused by what I am choosing to think about my day. Practicing new more deliberate thoughts, like the ones offered above are always helpful to generate useful emotions that get me back on track.
In saying that, we have human brains and old familiar patterns or habits. Continue to notice these and be kind and curious when these come up for you. Take a few deep breaths and remind yourself you are choosing to think about your week or day a different way now. This will take practice. Be your own best friend with this and cheer yourself on as you continue the practice
carve out time in your day to offer yourself gratitude for all the things you Accomplish
During dinner, my family often engage in an activity where we share one thing we have done in the day that we are proud of. It This is a practice you may like to do with the family or by yourself. Set an alarm to remind you to be grateful to yourself.
Mothers and women in general are very quick to judge themselves on what they did not achieve in the day. This does not generate great emotion or drive good actions. Instead build the relationship with yourself to one where you offer yourself love and compassion. Give yourself permission to do this, because I promise you, you will have so much more love and kindness to give others.
schedule your To-Do List
We often choose to perform the easy tasks on our to-do list first. They are often quick wins that give us a sense of achievement. These feelings can soon turn to dread as we spot the bigger more difficult tasks on the list.
Instead, allocate each task a set time in your day and follow this schedule. Your brain will like the direction and is less likely to complain. I love teaching clients the scheduling tool to improve productivity. It really has changed how productive I am in my week, how I take on more challenging tasks and taken away stress and overwhelm.
get coaching
Coaching is for the mind like physiotherapy is for the body. If you have a sore back, you go and see a physio so that you can get professional help and exercises that will support you to get stronger. The physio will help you find the cause of your problem and give you the right program so that you can become stronger more quickly and be very clear on the movements that may cause you to regress.
Coaching will help you uncover actions, patterns and beliefs that are causing your current mindset or emotional discomfort and support you as you apply tools and exercises that will make you stronger and more capable. A coach works together with you on your mind and a physio will work on your body. Both are important to your overall wellbeing.
If you would like some support to stop being busy and eating to escape your emotions then schedule a free no obligation chat with me and we can see if Coaching is a good fit for you. Send me an email to schedule a call at rebecca@rebeccagoodacre.com. You deserve it.
Have a beautiful day
