4 Things We Mean When We Say We Are "Busy"

Everybody is busy.

Or, at least, that is what we all say. After all, no one can argue with "busy." Plus it does seem like we always are.

But busy isn't a sign of virtue. In fact, I would argue it is the exact opposite. Why?

Because Jesus was never busy. The most important person who ever lived (he was God after all), was never busy. It's impossible to read the accounts of his life in Scripture and see someone who was very busy or rushed when he had every right to be.

Of course, we aren't Jesus, but if you are a follower of Jesus, you certainly desire to become more like Him.

If you're not a follower of Jesus, the point of the post is still the same. Busyness is a choice, not a virtue. And I would be willing to bet we wouldn't choose to be busy if we had a choice.

So here's the good news; we do have a choice. The bad news is that it might sting a little bit to be honest about what we mean when we say we are "busy." But, it is worth it if we want a healthier life.

What follows are four things we likely mean when we say we are "busy" and how we can live a less stressful life if we are honest about our "busyness."

1. I'm not proactive with my time

How we spend our time can be compared, in a lot of ways, to how we spend our money. If you have a budget and keep up with it, you are likely in a much better financial position (no matter how much you make) than the majority of people who don't keep a budget.

Keeping a budget is hard work, but when done well, tells your money where to go instead of getting to the end of every month having no idea what happened to all of it.

It's the same way with our time. It's easy to live reactively and deal with things as they come up (whether at work or at home). Instead, proactively scheduling your time and telling your time "where to go" ends up saving you a lot of time. On top of that, you can actually look at your calendar and see where your time was spent.

It is easy to say you are "busy" when you don't have to show what you spent your time on. When you calendar out ahead of time where your time will be spent, you get to decide what you will actually do with it.

Many times, "busyness" is a synonym for being reactive instead of proactive with your time.

2. I don't prioritize things well

Multi-tasking, responding to the next urgent thing, and/or not proactively taking the time to work on important things (and not just urgent ones) leads to "busyness." While you may feel like you are doing a lot of things, there is a difference between gettings things done and being efficient and effective.

When we don't prioritize the important, urgent becomes important, and there are always seemingly urgent things we have to do.

I have found that when I stay on top of my calendar and preplan when and where things will get done, things actually get done. This also means I plan for times I will not be working as well. Just like we should prioritize and plan how we work, we should also prioritize and plan when we will be off-line.

3. I don't have the courage to be honest

One of the ways we can "busy" ourselves is by saying yes to every request. Here are a few reasons why leaders must learn to say "no."

While saying "yes" to even small requests is easier than declining because saying "no" makes us feel bad, it can quickly lead us to do a lot of things we shouldn't be doing.

This doesn't mean we must tell people the exact reason why we must decline a request, but it does mean we need to be upfront and decline it. You might feel bad declining, but we've all committed to things we knew we shouldn't have and faced the continual dread of having to deal with it.

If you are asked to do something you can't or don't want to do, say no upfront. Everyone will be happier for an upfront and honest answer than drawn-out frustration.

4. Look at how important I am

Finally, saying we are "busy" has become the default way to say I'm important because I have a lot going on. We would never say it like that, but we like for people to think are "busy" because "busy" must mean we are needed and important in some way.

Don't fall into that trap. "Busyness" does not equal importance. For most of us, it equals the previous three points I wrote about. In which case, being "busy" actually isn't a good thing.

Don't be busy

I'm not impressed when people say they are busy (and you shouldn't be impressed with me if I say it either). There is a difference between having a lot to do and being "busy."

You can have a lot to do and not be "busy."

Remember, busyness is a choice even when it doesn't feel like one.