The to-do list feels never ending.

The calendar is back-to-back-to-back. And then to-back again.

The text messages piling up, the emails don’t stop and the slack pings all day.

And there you are, in the middle of the storm. What to do?

We are pulled to rush. Rush to this appointment, rush to the next. Fire back on the most urgent messages in between. Yet, the world seems to move faster than we are capable. We remain in a constant state of busyness.

The result is that our insecurity rises. We’re insecure because we are afraid we’re dropping the ball. We’re insecure because our busyness makes us feel like we’re not getting it all done or all done well. Rushing around keeps our adrenaline and cortisol high. Moreover, because the experience is overwhelming, the stress hormones put us into an anxious state of flight or flight.

We are not at our best when we are rushing. The underlying fear that we are missing something holds us back from our best work. Our mind is all focused on protecting and preserving us, as opposed to creativity and possibility. Our work suffers. We suffer.

What we want is to be secure, not busy. When we’re secure, we can actually get things done without pressing or in fear over deadlines. We tackle our projects with eagerness as opposed to fear. We’re able to be expansive with our minds, not constricted to just getting it done.

We feel better about ourselves and think more of ourselves.  We actually do better work, which gets us the results we want and feel great about it.

It looks daunting, don’t get busy, find security. Here’s a few strategies to amplify your security while simultaneously letting go of fear-based busyness.

Presence

Typically, we project a failing or problem out into the future, which lights a fire to get busy. Instead, gain the presence of mind to be in the present.

It’s a skill that I use whenever I begin to feel anxious. I start noticing what I’m feeling and where I’m feeling it. Also, notice the inner dialogue that comes with it. Once you shine a light on what’s happening inside, the experience loses its grip on you.

Understand your presence and what options you have at your disposal right now. It’s in the present moment where you have your power and freedom – not in the past or the future.

Prioritize

Overwhelm happens because of our inability to prioritize. Everything seems urgent, because we don’t actually know what is urgent and we project future problems and feel it as if the problems are happening now.

What we want is to prioritize. What is the most important first step that I can take right now? Once you have that, you can take strong action. Focus on and complete the first and then move the next priority.

When you’re clear on the priority of action and attention, the overwhelm and fear does not exist because you are tackling the most important thing and you can bring all the urgency required without the negative side effects.

Patience

We must be patient with our results. What makes us insecure and then feel like we must be busy is that we’ve not achieved what we think we want. The irony is, the more rushed and busy we are, less likely it is that we’re ultimately going to get what we want.

Take the stance that life will unfold in its time – not your time. As much as we want life to mirror Amazon, our delivery doesn’t always show up in 2 days on time. Sometimes it is faster and sometimes it takes longer than we want. Yet, we don’t have control over outcomes. Instead of stressing, we must practice patience.

Patience, however, doesn’t mean we do nothing or lack urgency. We can and must maintain the urgency with actions. Tackling our top priority now, with all of our available resources, is key. We simply don’t worry about the results of those actions. It’s through patience that we’re able to take lessons from setbacks, persevere through hardships, and find the grit to keep going. Patience gives us our wellbeing and ability to take on great mountains.

When you find yourself in the mode of busyness, use this 3 P strategy to come back to security. It’s from the position of security that we can be our best and get the most from our potential.