Our Society's Obsession with Busyness
Excerpt from 'Gut Throat Leadership'
by Eibhlin Johnston
In this excerpt from her upcoming book, 'Gut Throat Leadership,' Eibhlin Johnston delves into the perplexing phenomenon of our relentless preoccupation with being 'busy.'
Deciphering the True Meaning of "Busy"
The word "busy" has become an omnipresent term in the English language. It encompasses a multitude of feelings and serves as an excuse, an antidote to boredom, sadness, lethargy, and even overwhelming emotions like uncertainty and confusion. It's a convenient shield we employ when we or our organizations fall short in delivering timely responses or services. Imagine asking a colleague if they're busy and receiving the response, "I have a lot to do, but I'm not particularly busy." Your reaction might range from shock to envy or perhaps even anger, depending on your mood. But what if having a lot to do doesn't necessarily equate to feeling busy? What if it simply means you're productive? This perspective challenges our addiction to the sensation of busyness. Some individuals deliberately extend the time required for a task to create that illusion of urgency and busyness that has become the new norm.
The Lost Art of Just "Being"
The concept of merely "being" has been consigned to the annals of history. The act of focusing on a single task has all but vanished. We find ourselves immersed in emails, social media, or making ourselves perpetually "available" for interruptions. Why? Because it cultivates the illusion of continuous activity, leading us to erroneously believe that busyness equals productivity.
Shifting the Focus to Personal Productivity
Busyness is fundamentally a thinking problem that frequently leads to stress. A more pragmatic definition of "personal productivity" revolves around your ability to yield results, irrespective of your level of activity, efficiency, effort, or stress. If you consistently deliver high-quality results over time, you are genuinely productive; otherwise, no amount of time and effort will compensate for subpar outcomes.
Changing your perspective to focus on the results you're producing, rather than fixating on the multitude of tasks, reveals the inefficiencies that permeate your day. This perspective counters the conventional management approach that prioritizes tracking activity over outcomes. It's akin to commending the hare for running three times the distance of the tortoise, only to lose the race.
No Shortcut to Hard Work
The key to enhanced productivity is straightforward: you receive more of what you concentrate on. If you focus on your to-do list, it expands; shift your focus to results, and they start materializing. However, this doesn't imply that achieving high productivity doesn't require effort. Virtually everyone who consistently delivers exceptional results invests substantial hours. Whether these hours feel like hard work or mere busyness is a reflection of your mindset, intricately tied to your thought processes.
The Power of Reflective Questions
The challenge usually doesn't lie within your brain but in how you utilize your mind. Here are some reflective questions to aid you in your quest for less busyness and greater productivity. By exploring these questions, you can gain valuable insights into achieving more with less unnecessary toil and struggle:
Think about occasions when your efforts seemed disproportionate to your results. Were these instances flukes, or could a larger principle be at play?
Compare your experience of work when fully engaged to when you're distracted. How can you cultivate a sense of full engagement?
If your productivity stemmed from making higher-quality decisions, how might you structure your day differently? What states of mind would be more valuable to you?
How can you nurture these higher-quality states of mind?
As I work with clients in the realm of business, I encourage them to envision a future where they've had their most enjoyable year yet. The shift from pursuing their "best" year to their "most enjoyable" year often involves letting go of tasks instead of taking on new ones. They abandon the belief that busyness equates to status and focus on effortlessly completing tasks they're naturally inclined towards. It's about stopping things, full stop.
Stress often accompanies the perpetually busy person because time is always scarce and tasks are endlessly abundant. When time becomes limited, patience diminishes, and urgency frequently signals the need to slow down or take a break. Rushing leads to errors, important details slip through the cracks, and corners get cut.
When we release the pressure to be exceptional and acknowledge that progress takes time, and people aren't always at their peak, we realize that "good enough" is often sufficient. If we grant ourselves a bit of breathing room, new ideas will inevitably emerge. This doesn't imply that we should move at a snail's pace. Rather, it suggests that embracing a slower pace can paradoxically lead to swifter progress.
Remember, "someday" is just a thought.
Start now, and things will unfold.