How busy is too busy ?

Have you felt lately that most of the people that you meet are caught up in the cult of busyness….Are you too annoyed with the never changing friends’ chat status as ‘crazy busy’ ? Does it made you to think …Is she busy forever? Or she does want people to perceive that she has no time to answer your totally-irrelevant-and-waste-of-time-conversation! From my vantage point, this is what happens with the busyness phenomena. Sometime people feel embarrassed or caught in the FOMO (Fear of Missing Out) and terrified to openly admit that they have some free time. They doesn't want to put themselves in a situation where they are called obsolete. It is like a slap to one’s pride! They find this busyness phenomena cool…’hectic schedule-busy with meeting-crazy- catch you later’ lingo has definitely added a touch of glamour to the social status. Remember, busyness is a symptom. The scary part is that you are indiscriminately ignoring more significant things in life, habituated with an easy excuse!

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It’s good to be busy…it is a good feeling…good to be engaged and stay in that way to keep yourself away from boredom and emptiness…but there is always a difference between being busy and being fruitful. I am a believer of John Lennon’s saying ‘Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans ‘. By being busy we forget some precious opportunities and wow moments that would take your personal and professional lives to one step ahead or a whole new level. Being busy has some ground rules. But what irks me so much is that some stays or like to stay busy forever giving others a ‘not-so-idle’ stance towards them or simply put ‘ my time is so valuable than yours’  to let others know that they are totally “buried” and grounded for the rest of the day...or weeks or months or forever ! This thing called busy is cool, brag-worthy and understandable but not always. Most of the time, it turns out to be miscommunicated. I am not intended to belittle anyone’s hardship but for once, I would like someone to prioritize, acknowledge and respond to ones that spend their valuable time too and are as busy as you!

Being a WAHM, I got attracted to the concept of time management - spending the entire day focused, prioritising work and personal time. My day will be packed with work and house chores. Well, if you are working outside your home, then house chores will never concern you until you come back home at the end of the day. The most productive time I find is 1. When my folks leave to work and school respectively 2. My toddler’s nap time. Capitalising on naptime is the most effective strategy I have learnt while working at home since I get at least two to three hours to finish up some major tasks of my assignment. But I feel okay to push aside my work when my kiddo is feeling ignored because I don’t feel I could accomplish anything when you have a fussy toddler around. I also find it interesting to give him some colouring stuffs to work with and sometimes play with him for a while. Because, once he had his ‘mom’ fill then he is happy to play by himself. I never take personal calls during work time unless it is emergency. I have this unique privilege of ‘understanding’ from my parents, husband and some of my close friends who knew my work hours and never hesitate to call me back during my leisure time. For other calls, I always make sure I call them back during the ‘me’ time- where I take time to catch up with friends, pamper myself, attend missed phone calls and watch some tele. I find the importance of people spending their valuable time to call me and hence I acknowledge them with my fair share of calling them back…In this way, missed calls had never been lost calls! While I try to steer the conversation well away from how busy I am, I try to strike up an interesting conversation piece that totally deviates me from my hectic day.

Have you felt the power of a pause? Instead of ending up frazzled, slow down to connect to yourself for a moment. Self-audit on what you have achieved by squeezing up so much time for the day. Prioritize things. Unplug and pause for a moment to get rejuvenated…after all you have to compliment your own accomplishments and milestones for the day. We are busy because we say we are…! There is nothing called busy… it’s about priorities. Next time, try to replace your word choice from ‘I am busy and I have no time’ to ‘It’s not a priority right now!’ Sounds perfect right? In this hyper-competitive world, everyone is caught up in the frenzy roller coaster ride. It is vital to stay ahead of competition but it is equally important to prioritize your relationship, passion and creativity to bring the real you. Why not pause for a moment in the busyness? Stop to talk with someone, appreciate a beautiful weather, take time to laugh at a silly joke, enjoy unique moments with people you love and create memories. Break the busyness and discover yourself!