These days when you ask someone how they're doing, you often hear:
"SO BUSY!"
"Crazy busy."
"NO time to work out, I'm just TOO busy."
But is everyone REALLY all that busy?
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| I could use some more of this in my life :) |
The author explained how it's not the people working 3 overtime jobs that are complaining about being busy, it's usually the people with the self-imposed type A schedules who tell you that they're busy. The people who are truly overworked just say they're "exhausted."
He says that people like saying that they're busy because it makes themselves sound SELF-IMPORTANT.
He argues that people feel anxious or guilty if they're not filling their schedules to capacity.
This quote pretty much sums up the author's viewpoint:
"Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand of every hour of the day."
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| West Virginia was the perfect escape from the internet land, I could also do some more of that. |
I am totally guilty of making myself "too busy" sometimes and while I do NOT agree 100% with the author (many people legit have busy lives with families and other obligations), I think that this article serves a great jumping off point for some thinking. I believe that I can probably be more efficient with my time and just relax a little more. I am often pushing myself to try new things and expand my boundaries because that is part of what brings me joy-- and doing that sort of thing is not always consistent with having a lot of down time. Like many things in life, being "busy" is fine in moderation but it's important to remind myself that sometimes it's wonderful to just LIVE LIFE :)
I definitely think people easily make excuses when schedules get hectic. Sometimes it truly is hard to fit things in, but if you really want to, you can fit it in, somehow. I am guilty of saying I'm too busy to do things and I keep trying to tell myself that it's fine if I'm busy and don't make time for things sometimes. I've started looking at it less like "I"m too busy" and more like "What do I most need to make time for?"
ReplyDeleteThis is thought provoking because you're right everyone seems to be SO busy these days. I do think there's an element of over scheduling and not being able to say no to things. But I also think that if something is a priority, we'll make time for it. It's so easy to make excuses sometimes.
ReplyDeleteI must want to seem important because I'm always busy! At least at work. I never have 5 minutes of downtime. I think I may actually just be too accessible: email, text, phone. I'm always being bombarded.
ReplyDeleteI feel like I'm actually always busy between work, school, blog stuff, and training, but I also roll workouts into that self-imposed busyness. However, I think about how women with families do the same thing and realize it could always be worse :)
ReplyDeleteLike you, I don't agree 100% with the author, but I think most people don't put the same emphasis on downtime as they do on work obligations. I'm unemployed now, but when I was working, I made a point of only going to the work obligations that were important to me as well as taking time to read/relax at least once a week.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely guilty of filling up my schedule, but I try to reserve at least a portion of every weekend for relaxing and spontaneity. For me, I don't feel the busy-ness is out of the need to be important, but it's because most of the things in my schedule are things I WANT to do and things I enjoy (minus working to pay the bills). But, this definitely gives me something to think about. Maybe it's a good thing I turned down an invitation to join a bowling league that would have filled yet another evening every week!
ReplyDeleteI agree and disagree with the author. But I think when I say that I'm busy, I'm actually busy (working a full-time job, another part-time writing gig, training for a marathon, blogging, PLUS making time to be social and fun). I think that constitutes busy, but just because I'm busy doesn't mean that I don't appreciate it and truly enjoy having my schedule filled to the brim, ya know?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the self-aggrandizing by business...at least where I live in So Cal...everyone's freaking competing to see who has the "most" going on. Me - I'll just stick with life being what it is and appreciate the slow days :)
ReplyDeleteInteresting article and I never saw it that way, but I can see there is some truth to it.
ReplyDeleteI believe in not taking a single day for granted. Be thankful for everyone and everything in your life. Whether that means your days are "busy" or completely mellow. Appreciate and be thankful for everyday on that day.
ReplyDeleteits a great thinking point for sure. we have time for what we want to make time for. great reminder to embrace the now and just get it done!
ReplyDeleteI've been meaning to do a post about this article as well! Everyone (especially in NYC, crazy people...) always say how BUSY BUSY BUSY they are, and I really think it's a matter of trying to sound important. You should not feel stressed about going out with your friends since that is something you choose to do. If you have to work seven days per week, that's another story. There's a huge difference between what you HAVE to do and what you WANT to do, and when people complain about doing things that they WANT to do (running, anyone?), it drives me up a wall.
ReplyDeleteIt hits home with me because people always ask me "what I do with all my free time"...you know, since we only work three days per week. While I definitely have a fair amount of time off, they think I should be saving the world on my days off (isn't that what I do at work??)...and look at me like I have a third eye when I saw I read a book in the park. Sounds productively relaxing to me!
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Amen, Susan!
DeleteI've always felt that people use the term busy as an excuse for not being good managers of their time. I can't stand to hear people say they are too busy to workout or too busy to make time for their family and friends. You can find time to do anything that you make a priority. Sorry for being so long-winded!
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