The Unbusy Manifesto
Being unbusy means knowing your values and keeping to them
Being unbusy is a choice
Being unbusy is a mindset
Being unbusy involves being mindful
Being unbusy is committing to doing nothing at times
Being unbusy is being mentally supple
Being unbusy is listening to your body's innate wisdom
Being unbusy is embracing the uncomfortable feelings too
Being unbusy is about a process over an outcome
Values
It all starts with your values when it comes to an unbusy life. Values define how you live, work, and your priorities and goals. They are crucial to making authentic decisions, and they guide the way you live your life.
The real secret to being unbusy is knowing your values and adhering to them for as long as they feel natural to you (if they don't, it's time to change).
Knowing your values is more important than your why or purpose. Your goals, projects, even your why and purpose can change in a heartbeat. But values are the core of who you are.
Choice
You are the master of your time. You are the master of your destiny. Even if things go badly, it's up to you how you'll respond. This is what it means to have a choice.
Decide what you're prepared to have less of so you can focus on the activities you want more of. See giving some things up as inviting abundance in other areas.
And remember, saying no is as important as saying Yes.
What's even more important is knowing when to use them.
Mindset
Committing to the unbusy life is not about uncluttering your wardrobes, slow living, buying local or becoming a minimalist. It's a way of thinking.
However, due to this way of thinking, you may find that you start to live a more simple, holistic life anyway. You naturally omit unnecessary time commitments from your life and see through the illusion of consumerism.
Changing to an unbusy mindset means unpinning and putting the badge of busyness in the bin. Realising that being busy is not wrapped up in our self-worth.
Understand busy is just a word. We attach the word busy to activities we participate in at any given moment, be it work or leisure. Busy is neither a good nor a bad thing. It's simply about taking control over how we spend our finite time on this earth.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness practice is a complementary partner to the unbusy life. By noticing your reactions, judgements and physical sensations to your environment and your internal feelings, you will be able to make choices based on your true values, rather than reacting in the moment and regretting it later.
Committing to the unbusy life can also bring about some uncomfortable feelings because we are going against societi’s conditioning that tells us that work and being busy is a noble use of time and makes us valuable human beings. Being mindful of this and noticing it when it happens will help you stay on track with the unbusy life choice.
Non-Doing
In the unbusy life, we make time for nothing. We are not even meditating. Instead, we take a snippet of time, whether it's 5 or 55 minutes, to sit (or stand if that's your thing). Daydream, observe, look, allow our minds to wander unguided and unashamed. It's watching the sea kiss the shore, busy birds pottering in the trees, walking without purpose.
Take pauses. To breath. To be bored. To mind wander. To reflect.
Flexibility
Allow for impermanence and change. At the time of writing this Unbusy manifesto, in 2022, COVID-19 forced the world to make a massive shift in how we live our lives. We've learnt that life can change overnight. We have thus learnt the importance of being adaptable and supple.
“If you want to make God laugh, tell her your plans.”
Knowing that the best-laid plans never go as expected allows for and embraces unexpected discoveries and opportunities.
As well as being adaptable to change, being flexible means you are in a position to be the change too.
Did you ever play the game 'Stuck in the mud as a child? If you're tagged by the player who is 'it', you cannot move until another player crawls through your legs to untag you.
Don't be rigid or stuck in the mud and wait for someone to give you permission to move or influence how you feel.
Be supple and flexible.
Body Wisdom
Accept that our bodies and minds are not separate entities but work in tandem.
There is great wisdom in our bodies if only we would listen! Your feelings, emotions, physical sensations, aches, pains and all of your senses are a source of immense knowledge and hold the answers to your questions that can't be found on Google (which will only tell you that your earache is terminal cancer).
If you practice yoga, pilates or just simple stretching, you may have heard the expression 'go to your edge'. This phrase means going a little further in the stretch to allow ourselves to discover our boundaries and explore going further than we might at first have expected. But more importantly, going to the edge means listening to what feels right in your body—trusting your body when it says to pull back a little.
Use embodied awareness. Explore your experience through the awareness of your body, the breath, your thoughts and sensations as you find them and use them to live authentically, according to your values.
See how far you can go and accept there will be limitations day to day, moment to moment.
Process Over Outcome
The unbusy life isn't about results. Results are simply the consequences of living your life, and results are meaningless if you don't enjoy or value the process.
It's helpful to develop habits, routines and rituals to keep you on track and make sure whatever you do with your time aligns with your values.
Find The Joy!
Laugh at your seriousness.
Play. Create. Craft. Make. Cook. Dress up in Cosplay. Watch comedy shows.
If you can't find time for these things, you cannot live an unbusy life. Fun, leisure or creative hobbies are not activities to crowbar into your schedule. This is perhaps the most important message of the unbusy life.
Fun, laughter, joy, loveliness - whatever word you want to use. These are the activities that are critical for your well-being and your road to becoming a well-rounded, productive, valuable human being - for yourself and others. They are as important as working for your business or organisation, putting out the bins, cooking a nutritious meal for your family, brushing your teeth, keeping fit, paying taxes.
What is life if we can't laugh and love?
And Finally...
Omit "I'm busy" from your vocabulary.
If you are genuinely busy and overwhelmed, it's time to stop and revisit your values (and reread this manifesto).
Have an inspired and unbusy day
Georgie x