![\"Busy](\"http:\/\/darylchow.com\/frontiers\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Busy-man-1024x663.jpg\")
<\/p>\nJust do a google search, and you\u2019d soon be inundated with many blogs and self-help books that specifically addresses the issue of raising productivity. Many of them provide useful to-do suggestions.<\/p>\n
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“Thus we are busy people just like all other busy people, <\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n rewarded for the rewards which are rewarded to busy people.”<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n – Henri Nouwen, from The Way Of The Heart, p.22.<\/i><\/strong><\/p>\n While trying to straddle conducting research, providing training and supervision, writing commitments, myriad of meetings, making time to create music, and maintaining a clinical practice, I found out that I had to take a deep look into the issue of productivity, especially since the birth of our beautiful one and a half year old daughter. I love being with her. It was also a crucial time that I work\u00a0out my schedule, so that I can afford the capacity do the stuff that matters to me. This also means that I would have have to cull activities that are unnecessary time killers. Like useless and mindless meetings.<\/p>\n \u00a0Necessity is the mother of important learnings.<\/p>\n I realised this issue of time scarcity isn\u2019t unique to me. Many of my colleagues are overwhelmingly busy, sometimes to the point of skipping lunches just to squeeze in a therapy hour for an ad-hoc client, or going home late so as to finish up a report.<\/p>\n I\u2019ve decided to write this post for the busy therapist, but from a less common angle. I reckon that this is more crucial than telling you \u201cwhat-to-do\u201d, which you would probably already know.<\/p>\n WHAT-NO-TO-DO:<\/b><\/p>\n Here\u2019s the Top 5 things to do if you have a bizarre wish to get more busy and less productive:<\/p>\n NUMBER 5. THE BLAME GAME<\/b><\/p>\n It\u2019s not uncommon to hear busy therapists say, \u201cWhat can I do? It\u2019s just the nature of my job,\u201d \u201cMy boss just keeps piling more and more projects on my plate,\u201d or we externalise it to the context \u201cI\u2019m in private practice. I need to focus on filling up my calendar, so that I can get enough income\u201d<\/p>\n Suggestion: There is no easy answer to this, but the important thing here is that we need ask ourselves, \u201cWho is responsible for me to be productive in my work?\u201d Who protects me from being washed away by busy-ness and becoming less productive with my clients?\u201d \u201cWhat is enough?”<\/p>\n \u00a0The logical answer is our-selves. But we need this to resonate to the core of our beings, and to be able to feel this truth. Otherwise, as Henri Houwen puts it in the quote at the beginning of this post, busy folks would just reap, well,\u00a0 more busy-ness.<\/p>\n We need ask ourselves, <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n \u201cWho is responsible for me to become productive in my work?\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n NUMBER 4. CONFUSE BEING BUSY AS BEING PRODUCTIVE<\/b><\/p>\n Busy-ness is addictive. When there is a demand for our time, it intrinsically leaves us feeling an illusory sense of worthiness. Do not confuse being busy as being productive. It is crucial slow down and ask yourself, \u201cWhat does being productive mean to me? Does seeing more clients means being more productive? What do I need to help me be more productive, based on what I deem as being productive?\u201d<\/p>\n Busy-ness is addictive. When there is a demand for our time, <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n it intrinsically leaves us feeling an illusory sense of worthiness.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n