One of biggest sources of stress and an unhealthy emotional environment at home is excessive busyness. We’re running everywhere. Have you ever asked yourself why your life is so busy?
Motivation for busyness
Much of our motivation for busyness is questionable. Parents might say, “I need to keep my kids out of trouble, so I constantly keep them running.” Others are motivated by needing to get to the next rung on the corporate ladder. Maybe you have many interests or hobbies and want to be involved in all of them. If we’re honest, a lot of people are busy for a reason they don’t want to admit: because being busy makes you feel indispensable, needed, or wanted.
The need for rest
During a very busy time, Jesus told his disciples to come aside and rest. We all need time to recharge and regroup.
Mark 6:31 Then Jesus said, “Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile.” He said this because there were so many people coming and going that Jesus and his apostles didn’t even have time to eat.
Here’s an assignment: take the next 24-48 hours to investigate on why you are so busy. What drives you? What are the sources of your busyness?
The 80/20 principle
When you think about your busyness, you will probably realize that 20% of your time/effort produces 80% of your results. For instance, you might find that reading one of five articles you’re given at work gave you 80% of the information you need for a task. Or in relationships, we might realize that only 20% of our coworkers give us 80% of the affirmation and support we need. The flip side can be equally true. 80% of the things that occupy our time make up only 20% of the tasks that need to be done. This usually happens when we work on something that doesn’t interest us or is not worth our time. So learn how to focus your energies. As you labor on the most important 20% you will find yourself less busy and hectic. Your home environment will be more healthy because it will be more peaceful.
Discussion Questions:
- Watch the video together or invite someone to summarize the topic.
- What is your initial reaction to this video? Do you disagree with any of it? What jumped out at you?
- On a scale of 1 to 10, how busy do you feel lately? Explain.
- Have you thought about what motivations drive your busyness? What have you learned?
- Read Mark 6:30-32. What was the source of busyness for the disciples? What was Jesus’ solution?
- Do you agree or disagree with the 80/20 principle, and why?
- What key actions are part of your 20%? What can you do to prioritize these productive actions?
- What activities are part of your 80% that you could really live without? Explain.
- Write a personal action step based on this conversation.
