“The busier you are, the more intentional you must be.” ― Michael Hyatt

So often we are on the move. It feels like we never stop, but at the end of the day, we don’t feel like anything has been accomplished. In fact we feel like an utter failure because of our inability to check anything off our list.

When asked how our day was, we say, “busy,” but instantly feel like an imposter. After all, if we were really that busy, we’d feel accomplished, right?

Not necessarily.

I don’t know about you, but I have spent whole days on my computer, but at the end of the day my inbox still has 1000 emails, and I know more about my friends on Facebook than they know about the Planner I just created because I got lost in my feed and forgot to post! I have spent whole days cleaning the house only to feel like the basement is a small store filled to capacity. I have spent whole days driving kids everywhere but feeling like I got nowhere.

But there are some planning tricks that I have found really helpful, and some of them might be just the little tweaks you need today to feel less busy and more accomplished.

Know how you want to feel. Busy is a feeling. I have had days that I have decided I want to feel calm, present or even abundant that don’t look that different than a busy day, but they feel different. It is because I go through my day with a different outlook, or I tweak little things — sitting for lunch, shutting off my phone at my daughter’s dance class, listening to great music while cooking, standing and stretching for 3 minutes for every 40 minutes I work.

Block out every minute of your day. Many of us dream of times we get to be alone, with no one who needs us, no one whining or pulling at our shirt. We yearn for some downtime to just put up our feet. When we can, we leave some spaces in our days, but it never seems to work hou. It goes soemthing like this: you leave some space on a Tuesday afternoon because last Wednesday you were dreaming of a nap, or maybe some extra time to walk to the store instead of driving. You looked at Tuesday, saw it was wide open, and you knew you could wait. Then on Monday, your daughter’s best friend wants to come over. You say “Not today” because there is a dentist appointment, but Tuesday would work. You just gave up your free moment. Instead, choose a color that represents downtime or selfcare. Block out time in your digital calendar or actually draw a rectangle around the time in your paper calendar. That way, all kinds of time are accounted for—including down time—not just “busy” time.

You can only be in one place at one time, so decide to be there. Have you ever truly sunk into a moment where time almost feels as though it is standing still? Maybe you are watching your kid do something spectacular, or you see something so beautiful in nature. These are moments when nothing else matters. What would happen if you just observed your daughter dancing instead of sitting in class writing your grocery list? What would happen if you told your son that you will help him in one hour and until then you focus with out distraction on writing the email that you have been avoiding? What if there were no phones at the dinner table? Presence is powerful. You can get a ton done in a power hour, but if you are focused on one thing it will never feel busy.

Define your 3 big rocks. Your big rocks are three things that move you towards your big goals. Compare them to busy activities: things like doctors appointments, client work, driving kids to school, things you will do because you have to. Picture this visual: a glass vase with three piles next to it — 3 big rock, a pile of pebbles and a pile of sand. When the sand goes in first, then the pebbles, it fills the vase and there is no space for the 3 big rocks. When the 3 big rocks go in first, then the pebbles, then the...