One of the most common frustrations I hear from business owners is “I’m so busy! There are so many things on my plate that I can’t seem to get anything done.”

Being ‘busy’ (and the stress that comes with it) seems to have become the norm. But even more than that – busy has become an excuse for why entrepreneurs aren’t growing their businesses. 

Why do my business owner clients keep themselves so busy? A few reasons:

• Habit – they are so used to doing ‘all the things’ that they default to continuing that 
• They don’t have help – if they don’t have anyone else on the team to do the work, it stays on their plate
• It’s a comfort zone thing – doing what we know is easy and safe

Every level of growth is a new challenge. That’s one of the most amazing things about business – it is the ultimate personal growth journey.

Every level of growth means doing something differently. In order to grow, business owners have to let go of something at each stage along the way. 

When my clients keep themselves too busy it keeps their business small. Busy means they don’t have to do the things they are afraid to do, the things that stretch them, the things they fear. 

I understand. For all of us it is very easy to keep ourselves stuck doing the things that we know we are good at. The things that are simple, fun and easy. It’s easy to keep ourselves distracted from doing the things we know we need to do in order to take whatever it is to the next level.

My challenge to you is this: Delegate your distractions.

Look at your plate and be honest with yourself. What are the things on your plate that you know are distractions?

They may be distractions that are just a waste of time and don’t need to be done at all. There are also distractions that are necessary. Things that do need to get done happen in order for you to serve clients, serve your team, and continue to grow and expand. But as long as they are on your plate, you aren’t able to do the things you need to do to grow.

The secondary piece of the solution is this: You need to be willing to do the things that scare you- the work you’ve been resisting. As you delegate, be clear that you’re getting distractions off your plate so that you can make the best use of your time doing the things that lead to growth. 

This is the way to escape the busy trap.