Years ago, when I encountered one of my patients or friends I would ask them, “How are you doing?” Their response was nearly always, “Fine.” Now when I ask that same question, I find that people tend to respond with answers such as “Busy,” “Tired” or “Exhausted.”

I have met people who genuinely believe being busy is a sign of success. Some even take pride in being busy and push themselves to the point of exhaustion. As a nation, America seems to be trapped in a work-and-spend cycle. Author John de Graff calls this “afluenza”—a painful, contagious, socially transmitted condition of overload, debt, anxiety and waste resulting from the dogged pursuit of more.

I can recall playing golf with a group of friends a few years ago. One of my friends was on his cell phone making business calls almost the whole time we played. To me, that degree of busyness is not relaxing. But for many people, it’s as if every waking minute has to be spent doing something in order to be perceived as productive. They aren’t enjoying the minutes as they are lived. Later, many awaken to realize with sadness that they have missed out on a great deal of enjoyment.

In his book "The Overload Syndrome," Dr. Richard Swenson accurately paints the picture of overload in our society. He states that a concept he calls margin is necessary as a space between vitality and exhaustion. Margin is the time in which we experience breathing room and access reserve energy. Having sufficient margin in our lives daily is necessary to keep us from overload.

For example, if a person is flying from New York to Los Angeles with a change of planes in Dallas, would they leave themselves only five minutes to make the connection between flights? If they did, there would be a very high probability that they would miss their flight. They would probably also experience anxiety and frustration because they have not left themselves sufficient margin for an enjoyable journey.

When we become too busy, we lose our joy. As a result, people irritate us, and we often become frustrated, anxious and critical. How can we break out of the trap of being too busy and practice keeping a healthy margin in our lives? Primarily by organizing our time and cutting out anything that is not in line with our top priorities. This is a simple thing to do, but many people don’t know where to begin.

Here are some basic steps I recommend to help you get started.

1. Purchase an organizer/calendar and put key dates, deadlines and major events in it.

2. Organize your desk at work and at home—the place where you do your paperwork, pay bills and so forth. This way you won’t waste a lot of time looking for things you need to accomplish these tasks.

3. Throw away junk mail daily.

4. Buy a filing cabinet for storing important papers, such as articles, warranties, documents, deeds, wills and other valuable items that may be stuck in various places around the house.

5. Organize your kitchen. Countless hours are spent searching for items in the kitchen as one prepares meals.

6. Prevent bothersome phone calls by telemarketers. Get call-block, caller ID, or simply unplug the phone during certain hours to avoid wasting time on unnecessary calls.

7. Declare a “media fast” one day a week, or perhaps one weekend a month. That means no computer, television, radio, news, videos or DVDs. Use this time to connect with your family and friends. As a general rule, cut down on your media time and spend more time being with people and creating your own “fun times.”

8. Make the most of your waiting times. Everybody finds themselves in waiting rooms from time to time. It may be a doctor’s or dentist’s office, bank or airport. Always have a book or something else with you to fill this time with something positive and productive.

9. Limit the amount of time you spend with negative, pessimistic people. They will not only sabotage your goals, but they will also drain your energy.

10. Refuse to be distracted if you are focused on a work project. Turn on the answering machine or have somebody answer your calls. Don’t allow interruptions. Stick with one task until it is finished before moving on to the next. You can get more done in an hour of totally focused time than in three hours of time that has only a few interruptions.

11. Make a to-do list each evening before you go to bed. Then refuse to think about it until morning! As part of this list, set a specific time to exercise, have your daily devotions, and eat meals. Make sure you have a little margin for relaxation and unavoidable interruptions.

12. Make meal times an experience by tasting, smelling and savoring every bite of food instead of “wolfing it down.” I recommend that you give yourself at least thirty minutes to connect with family members at mealtimes and avoid arguments and stressful topics at the table. Also, avoid eating on the run or in your car. A great deal of stress can be eliminated if a person will simply use mealtimes as opportunities to relax.

13. Choose to be a good steward of your time, and as a part of your stewardship, build in a healthy margin of totally unscheduled time. These moments are likely to fuel your creativity and energy and defuse your stress level simultaneously. Remember, your time is ultimately your most precious possession. How you spend it determines, in many ways, how you will spend eternity. Use it wisely.

Dr. Don Colbert, MD graduated from ORU Medical School in 1984. He then moved to Central Florida where he did his internship and residency at Florida Hospital. For over twenty years, Dr. Colbert has practiced medicine in Central Florida. He has been board certified in Family Practice since August 1987, and is also board certified in Anti-Aging Medicine. He can be reached at www.drcolbert.com.