Busy-ness

One of my friends and I have an ongoing discussion about how people who go on at length about how they're "busy" turn us off.

For my pal, as a stay at home mom, she always felt other parents would try to rub it in that they were superior to her because they were juggling a career and a household (and implicitly that she wasn't). She also felt like "I'm so busy" was a ready way for them to say, "I don't value this activity enough to make time for it," instead of just being direct enough to say it.

For me, I'm reminded of my nemesis at my old day job. At the first hint of any sort of pressure or deadline, she'd start striding around the building declaring how "busy" she was. And I'd always think, "Sheesh, if you're so damn busy, why aren't you behind your desk...working." I guess for me, the whole "I'm busy" melodrama seemed to be about playing the victim. I also always felt like those of us who quietly met our deadlines never got any credit for sustained productivity, while the hand-wringers were always coddled and bolstered.

Hooray. I work for myself now. I am thankful all day, every day, that I'm no longer part of that drama.

Mainly I wanted to link to this blog post about reframing busy-ness by Marie Josee Shaar, who I think is super practical, wise, and not at all melodramatic. Her blog and book are about balancing nutrition, exercise and sleep.

Busy, but not rushed at Smarts and Stamina