Is it good or bad to be busy?
I love TikTok. I listen to some of the greatest educational and not so educational content I’ve ever come across. I recently happened upon a video where the lead in was, “What is something people often use as a flex that really isn’t?”
Someone responded to this prompt by answering, “Being busy all the time. It’s not a flex, it just means you don’t have control of your life.” My immediate reaction was to think she was right, and I subsequently started doing a rundown of all the reasons I felt busy at the moment. Was it in fact because I was not in control of my life? This was a couple of months ago and my conclusion was, actually, yes. That wasn’t a good feeling.
On a different note, I recently had lunch with an old friend, and we are both in similar stages of getting our new-ish businesses off the ground. We were talking about the trials of experimentation and trying different things in our businesses, some working, some not. But we both concluded that however frustrating the process is, it is the natural order of things to figure out what does indeed work and where to better allocate our time.
I’m extremely “busy” right now. But busy in a way I enjoy. I’ve found a groove with my activities. Eliminating the activities that haven’t been entirely productive or enjoyable and doubling down on the ones that are rewarding. It’s a wonderful feeling to not have to ask the question “Am I doing the right thing right now?” And then it hit me. That TikTok was a load of crap. Sure, I can be out of control with my time on occasion and use the excuse of being busy to give an ambiguous answer to someone casually asking, “How are you?” But I’m on a mission to become an exceptional asset to help owners grow their business. And in that early phase of trying to figure out what’s working, I’m going to feel busy. I’m going to question myself and I’m going to feel out of control. And that’s where I was a few months ago.
But that’s ok. Because once I’ve found that groove, my sense of what is important is even more apparent. And while I may spend more hours working in that groove, I’m far more attuned to and present for the other important things in life as well. It’s weird like that, but now that I actually have less time, it feels like I have more time than I’ve ever had.
Perhaps in the most busiest time of year, it’s easy to question priorities. All in all, my net takeaway is that busyness is necessary. It’s always good to question how to best spend the precious resource of time. But busyness can also often mean you’re living a fulfilled and productive life, or at least on the path towards as much.
What do you think?
Sincerely,
Russel
“The Backboard”
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I know a lot of people I talk to would love to improve their time management. This is a fun little quiz to assess your preferences. Take the quiz!
