By Jordan Green, Editor-in-Chief
Being busy is not hard. So, when did it become a virtue?
These days, if you ask someone how they are, the reply you’re most likely to get is: “Busy.” Before they ever even think about saying, “Doing well” or “Not too shabby,” people are likely to tell you how much they have to do – and how little time they have to do it.
I’m as guilty as anyone of telling folks how busy I am. But lately, I’ve gotten sick of using that word and hearing other people use it. It seems like, after a while, people begin to use the word “busy” as an excuse to perform duties poorly and neglect spending time doing the things they actually need to do, like serving others or spending time with friends and family. The things that should keep us busy are the things we avoid … by saying we’re “busy” with other things.
Adding to the frustration is that people try to debate who is busiest. If someone fails to finish a job, they’re likely to tell their boss they were too busy. The boss then responds by saying that he’s even busier than his employees. That’s where busy-ness seems to be promoted to art form. Everyone is busy, and if you’re not, you’d better jump aboard the busy-ness train, right?
Forgive me if I sound a little Ecclesiastical here, but there is a time for everything. I think it’s high time we all quit talking about how busy we are. We must all face the fact that everyone is busy, even if we don’t think they are, and that we’re all actually less busy than we say we are. We all need to straighten our priorities so that we can quit being “busy” and start being productive – and start having purpose.
A lot of people believe that the human race is busier today than it ever has been. But truth be told, we’re really no busier than anyone in the past has been. Even if we were, we certainly wouldn’t have to remain that way.
We all have choices to make daily. From the moment we get up, we can choose what we’re going to think about, talk about and work on. We can choose whether to fill our day with constant, non-stop labor (and wonder why we’re so exhausted and empty-feeling) or we can choose to take a little time out of our 9-5 to call a friend, take a little walk or make a point to help someone carry groceries to their car.
Like everybody, I’ve had a lot to do in the last three years. Some days seem like a blur because I raced through them, practically chained to my checklist and wristwatch.
The days I remember best, and most fondly, are the days when I took a few moments to eat lunch with a friend, call up Momma or take a brief stroll. Most shockingly, even when I set aside just a few minutes for non-work-related activities, I still got all my work done – and I felt less stressed doing it.
Perhaps the busiest among us are just those who fail to manage their time well and prioritize tasks effectively. Admittedly, if I had been a better time manager, I probably could have had a lot less stress during those tough, long days. This may seem cynical, but I’m going to start taking people’s incessant complaints about being “busy” with a dose of skepticism.
The next time we’re tempted to use that word, let us stop and think about why we’d use it. Are we truly busy or is there something unnecessary that we’re doing?
Have we managed our time well or spent hours scrolling through social media? Have we gotten plenty of rest so that we can be productive or did we stay up all night playing video games and watching TV?
I’m stepping on lots of toes – my own included.
We are only as busy as we choose to be. This week, let’s all stop being busy for a few moments each day and focus on something more meaningful than busy work. Chances are, we’ll have a productive day, which is much better than a busy day, and we’ll have something to remember long after we clock out.
Being busy isn’t as much of a problem as it is a reflection of a bigger, underlying issue: the fact that we’re humans with short-range vision. For the long run, let’s try to focus more on the stuff that matters. Now, get busy!