“How are you?” and “I’m so busy!” may be two of the most commonly used phrases in modern society. The fact that a quesation about someone’s well-being is generally answered with a reply about how much they have going on speaks to the status symbol of busyness (Pinsker, 2017) and how we have allowed demands on our life to become out of control.
And yet, this is certainly not a new problem. The story of James Gordon Gilkey (Watson, 1951) highlights that busyness was just as present in the good old days as it is now in 2018.
Gilkey’s quote from a sermon in 1944 has as much to say today as it did when it was spoken 74 years ago:
The crowded hours come to you always one moment at a time. That is the only way they can come. The day may bring many tasks, many problems, strains, but invariably they come in single file.
You want to gain emotional poise? Remember the hourglass, the grains of sand dropping one by one. (Watson 1951, p. 221)
Reflecting on this story gives the opportunity to consider the difference between proactive and reactive behaviour when it comes to the demands of life and busyness. Am I proactively choosing to create boundaries and margin in my life? Am I reacting to every situation around me in a way that makes my life busier?
As the study from Harvest Business Review (Bellezza, Paharia, & Keinan, 2016) shows, there is a connection between the perception of how busy someone is and their social status. Am I being careful that I am not artificially inflating my own importance and how busy I am so that those around me believe I am more necessary than I actually am? Understanding the motivation behind our decisions to become busy can help to uncover some dark places in our own lives.
Over the last several years I have been able to create margin in my life in a few significant ways. Margin in how I use my time, what I do with my money and what opportunities I agree to take on has allowed me to be more focused while actively staying away as much as possible from the trap of busyness, real or perceived.
As Watson (1951) states in her conclusion, this has helped “achieve a better, more serene way of life” (Watson, 1951, p. 221).
Question
Are there some specific habits you have put in place in your life to combat the tyranny of busyness?
Reference
Bellezza, S., Paharia, N., & Keinan, A. (2016, December 15). Research: Why Americans Are So Impressed by Busyness. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2016/12/research-why-americans-are-so-impressed-by-busyness
Pinsker, J. (2017, March 1). ‘Ugh, I’m So Busy’: A Status Symbol for Our Time. The Atlantic. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2017/03/busyness-status-symbol/518178/
Watson, L.E. (1951). Light from Many Lamps. New York: Simon and Schuster.