The Badge of “Busy”

It seems that no matter who you talk to, a simple inquiry like “how are you doing?” will return some variation of “busy!” I get it: we all have things to accomplish, relationships to build and nurture, laundry to do and work to be done. But there’s an insidious belief that without busy, there will be no success.

What if instead of busy we were active? You know, able to relax and play by swimming without counting laps, playing catch at the park, or running for the joy of it. There’s nothing wrong with activity, but busyness is a state of mind. Actively working on goals, the boring things in life (hello laundry!), or managing your business is normal. Being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of crap that needs to get done so you’re not rested, taking care of yourself or stressed beyond belief may be normal, but it’s not a good place to be.

Busy doesn’t allow for rest. Biologically we’re hard wired to rest – for up to a third of our days rest and sleep is required. When you’re so busy that all of those “should dos” encroach on your sleep, then it’s a sign that change is needed. Having non-work downtime is important too; when was the last time you enjoyed a movie, dinner out, day of hiking or vacation without worrying about work? I know that as entrepreneurs we have big plans, but too busy to relax is a dangerous state that can quickly lead to burn out.

Busy is different than focused. Are you trying to do too much? The studies are in and conclude that multi-tasking doesn’t actually save time and can make even simple tasks more stressful. When you can focus your time and energies on completing a task or project (big or small), you can accomplish more in less time.

We’re a country that loves “10 quick tips” and YouTube videos under 2 minutes, and yet so many of our projects and problems require more research, attention to detail and time.

Cut down on busy by eliminating what’s unimportant

Systems breed familiarity and habits – which can be great – but unexamined it can be incredibly wasteful. For example, when my grandpa died in 2010, we took the chance to go through all the bills and audit them for my grandma. And in doing so, we found a surcharge on her phone bill for $10/month. For a phone rental. Because at some point in the 1990s the phone company sent them a “rental” ROTARY phone. And had been charging $120 a year ever since. Paying that charge was a habit but it wasn’t important.

So maybe in your business, that means looking at the marketing that isn’t working and stopping or fixing it. Or working with your team members that are just doing busy work and getting them effective work – or letting them go for now. It’s easy to say “I’m too busy” and push all the things you should be doing to the background but in life and business the badge of being busy is a shield to hide behind. Make time for the things that are important to you.