Busy Executive in the Weeds
Ask any random person on the street, how their life is going. You’re likely to hear something along the lines of “I’m so busy, or gotta run, I’ve got to be or do, (fill in the blank). I submit that much of this busyness is self-inflicted or exaggerated to appear to be a productive, with-it, “winning” person to quote Charlie Sheen.
They postulate that if you’re not busy all the time, you must be a free-loader, slacker, low-ambition, selfish parasite on society. Perhaps, I’m using a bit of hyperbole here. But, busyness in America has become a badge of honor. Any less, is well, less.
The information age is responsible for much of this philosophy as smartphones, social media sites, texting, chatting, and coffee have conspired to give us all the impression we are busy, when most of our day is spent in a vast sea of random unnecessary conversations and updates. We are so caught up in our own lives, we don’t even notice we aren’t even living in the full sense of the word, as the days pass by in a cloud of information overload.
Multiple times, I have seen either homeless people or people using food stamps texting on their $400 smartphones. while people wait in line to buy groceries or try to solve real-life problems.
Our society simply is not as busy as people pretend to be. We have twice as much leisure time as our farming ancestors did, less than 100 years ago. They really were busy and appreciated and valued their down time, as rest from exhaustion and a chance to recharge their batteries for the next day.
Our problem is that we view engagement in any activity as busyness. “Uncle John’s funeral is tomorrow; Sarah has soccer practice; I’ve got to tape that episode of Breaking Bad; Tina is texting me; the line at Starbucks is so long; did you see what Miley Cyrus wore to the Grammies last night? The list goes on and on. Granted, some of our activities do keep us busy. But, we fail to mention all the time engaged in watching sporting events, hanging out at bars, chatting with Facebook friends, surfing the web or playing video games.
Entertainment time, IS NOT busy time. That is why they call them “leisure” time activities. I for one am glad I can truly tell someone when they ask how busy I am, that I have structured my life in such a way as to relieve stress, eliminate white noise and schedule in plenty of minutes of down-time. Plus, I do not mix in leisure activities with work activities and call the sum total busyness.
I don’t want to live in a world where nobody thinks they have time to sit down and have a one-on-one conversation with a friend, play a long, slow board game or enjoy a leisurely stroll along the beach. Life is too short to let it be a blur and computer interaction is no substitute for real human interaction. There is a healthy amount of busyness. I am not advocating sloth.
I just think it would be wise to prioritize your life, so it is balanced, and stop trying to fill every day with activities.
Socrates said it best, “Beware of the barrenness of a busy life”.
rjdick 