Thoughts on Being Busy

My practice is going from strength to strength and I’ve never been as busy as I am these days. Now, I am very grateful that things are going well, but it has got me thinking about the nature of busy.

It is one thing being busy in a productive way, but it’s another thing altogether being a busy fool.

Being busy has been glorified in our culture today. People assume that being busy means you are doing well and that the opposite is also true. It has become almost a badge of honour to be busy. The busier you are, the better you are perceived to be doing.

This is a trap, and I think it is important to be aware that there is nothing inherently good or bad about being busy. It is rather, just a reflection of how much of your time you are spending in action. Doing this, or that, or whatever it is that you do. It is not accurate to think that the busier you can get then the more successful you will become, or the more you can accomplish.

It is very important to make sure we busy ourselves in the right way.

Time will pass anyway, regardless of what we are doing or not doing. And of course we will never get that time back, so it’s a good idea to take stock and make sure we are not being the busy fool.

Take some time to review your goals and priorities. What is it that you want from life? What is it that you want to be working towards? Include not only business and personal goals, but everything you would like to be present in your life. Good health, good relationships, security, peace of mind, and so on.

Now reflect on what it is that you spend your time doing. What is it that you spend your days doing? Take your typical week and map it all out so that you can see clearly where you are spending your time.

Now ask yourself: Am I spending my time working towards building the life that I want – or am I spending my time simply being busy?