Several years ago I used to make videos on a relatively frequent basis. Some are decent. Others are cringeworthy. For some reason, I watched through several of them the other day. (You can watch them too if you’re incredibly bored and have a lot of time on your hands.)

There is a series of vlogs I did as updates for our supporters when we lived in Central Asia. Most of them are not worth watching as they hold little relevance to life now. But I did learn one thing about the 2009 version of myself:

I used to wear busyness around like an expensive suit.

I complain-bragged about how many “plates I was spinning” and listed the many projects I was working on — and I remember how tired I always was in those days.

The “now-me” looking back at the “10-year-ago-me” has only one thing to say:

You’re overstretched and over-busy and exhausted because of your own doing. You don’t know the word “no”.

And I have video evidence to prove it.

Take off your busy suit. It’s not that impressive.

Take the time to figure out how to get more done by doing less.

This takes mental energy, planning, and the ability to make hard choices.

But it is possible.