Being Busy

Being Busy


In the 21st century, especially in America, it feels like we are always in a bragging contest to try and be the “busiest” possible.

You meet someone you have not seen in a long time and this is what normally happens:

me: “hey, how are you”

person: “all good, super busy with work”

me: “cool.”

That exchange is the worst! It does not do anything. It is not how you cultivate relationships. If anything, it kills them.

Jaime Casap writes about this dilemma that is starting to occur more and more:

Ain’t Nobody Got Time For That
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I fear the “very busy” culture has cemented into our work life. If we aren’t extremely busy, we aren’t significant. In a knowledge economy, the only way to demonstrate our status is to describe how busy we are. It’s how I know you are important! It’s how you tell me you are a hard worker! There’s an email in my inbox from last night that began with, “I know you are very busy…” which makes me feel guilty because I’d just finish reading multiple theories on which girl The Bachelor is going to pick!

I feel like in today’s world, the biggest thing we can actually “brag” about is how not busy we are. We have worked so hard in the past that we earned this level of freedom — so much to say that we have just been hanging out by the pool relaxing.

Biggest takeaway = do what makes you happy and fulfilled.


Originally published at Jordan Gonen.

By jordangonen on March 12, 2017.

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Exported from Medium on February 17, 2018.