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The glorification of busy

A round-up of useful sources to help you unbusy your lives

Busy-ness is glorified

Busy-ness is glorified

“Busy-ness” is glorified in our society. We wear our stress like a badge of honor, as if the busier we are, the more impressive we must be, and the more accomplished we must seem.

When we glorify stress and being busy, we normalize a culture where running ourselves ragged is not just celebrated but the norm. To not be busy makes you an outlier — someone that is not measuring up to the "standards.”

253

Busy-ness is selfish

Being so hyper-fixed on our own stress and schedule is, in a way, selfish. It’s a way to be caught up in our own little world.

Instead, we should be encouraging ourselves and others to find a better balance in our lives and in our experiences. 

205

Analyze

We convince ourselves that everything we do now, will pay off when we are successful and achieve that next milestone. But, as soon as we reach that goal, we rarely bask in that success because we must be in pursuit of the next one.

Analyze the reasons as to why you are doing the things you do, and why you are reaching for the goals you are trying to achieve.

203

Chronically Busy

Chronically Busy

Normally, people who are busy and stressed out on constant work, eradicate their work-life balance by bringing work home or worrying about unfinished work too much, leading to stress.

Chronically busy people feel pressed for time and are stressed out, narrowing their attention and cognitive bandwidth.

409

Tunnelling

When we are having a narrow cognitive bandwidth, it can help us hyper-focus but is also harmful.

Tunnelling can lead us to focus on the urgent but not so important tasks immediately in front of us, which at the end of the day isn't very productive.

322

Email as a Slot Machine

Email as a Slot Machine

Email is the perfect addictive slot machine of our attention.

Our brain craves something new and likes being interrupted with some notification rather than focusing on one task continuously.

Email is pseudo work masquerading as real work and is not productive if handled all the time.

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Chronic busyness

Chronic busyness

Being chronically busy can become a badge of honor. It makes you feel important.

It can also hurt your health. The long hours, stress and lack of relaxation time can result in insomnia, headaches and fatigue.

92

Addicted to chronic busyness

  • How would you describe your days? Would you call them hectic, chaotic, consumed in activities?
  • How does being busy make you feel? Do you enjoy the excitement of going from one activity to another throughout the day?
  • Do you take fewer vacation days than you’re given or even skip vacation time altogether (like Tom)?
  • What activities do you normally do when you’re not at work? Do you rarely take time to sit, relax and read a book or magazine for fun?
  • Are your friends and family weary of hearing how busy you are? Have you ever seen someone roll their eyes when you talk about how busy you are?

79

 Social Comparison Theory

Social Comparison Theory

Psychology Today describes social comparison theory as, "... determining our own social and personal self-worth based on how we stack up against others we perceive as somehow faring better or worse."

140

What Others Think of Us

As a human being interacting with other human beings, we learn that how we show up in the world seems to matter. 

If we have learned through our own social experiences that certain patterns of behavior, such as being extraordinarily busy and constantly on-the-go lead to being successful, connected and accepted by others, then we may find it appealing to engage in those behaviors.

124

Busy vs. Productive

Merriam-Webster defines the word productive as, "Yielding results, benefits or profits." Essentially, it means that we have something to show for our hard work. 

Being busy has to do with an amount of time, where productivity has more to do with our use of time.

173

Productivity and Pursuing Wealth

Productivity and Pursuing Wealth

We are obsessed with the idea that our potential for happiness is intricately tied to our freedom to pursue wealth. We think we must work harder and longer than the majority if we’re to amass a fortune so we can escape the drudgery of work as we know it.

We can fill our days with work that stretches us, fulfills us, and endows life with a whole new level of meaning.

171

Productivity and Effectiveness

Efficiency does not necessarily guarantee effectiveness. Getting more done is not an accurate barometer for measuring your impact. Consider whether you’re being effective in achieving what you actually want. 

Think about what it is you’re really seeking and what might be the most direct path to get it. Then realize that sometimes doing less can actually pave the path to experiencing more—more satisfaction, more ease, and even more effectiveness.

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Productivity and Happiness

Productivity and Happiness

Research suggests that happiness leads to success, not the other way around. It would benefit us to shift our focus from achieving future happiness to accessing that joy right now.

When we wrap our days around things we have to do we leave very little time for the things we want to do. Happiness requires balance.

212

Lin Yutang

“Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.”

LIN YUTANG

587

Busy as a default state

“‘Busy’ has become the new ‘Fine’.” 

When you ask somebody how they were doing, they used to answer, “Fine.” But nowadays, everybody answers, “Busy.”

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Being busy is a choice

We are never forced into a lifestyle of busyness. 'Busy' is nothing but a decision we make.

Simply realize that our schedules are determined by us. 

368

ALBUS DUMBLE

"The truth. It is a beautiful and a terrible thing and should be treated with great caution."

ALBUS DUMBLE

28

REMUS LUPIN

"It is the quality of one's convictions that determines success, not the number of followers."

REMUS LUPIN

27

J.K. ROWLING

"There are some things you can't share without ending up liking each other, and knocking out a twelve-foot mountain troll is one of them."

J.K. ROWLING

26

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