The Art of Being Busy

A screen greets us good morning before we rush off for work. Some of us lie in because we’re lucky we have to ‘work from home’ and some of us ponder over what work even means!? If it wasn’t clear already, the subject of this post is ‘being busy’ and how this new trend has hit us like a retrogressive storm.

Think about it, when is the last time you heard someone say, ‘I’m so sorry, it’s been so hectic.’ Not to say that the pace of life hasn’t sped up exponentially, especially in the cities, but when you begin to hear it much too often…can you honestly say you don't feel perturbed?

Is there an art to staying so busy? How does one master this art? And is being busy what will give me happiness? Because it certainly sounds like it will.

Busy is great, busy makes you tick, busy removes you from the petty hassles of the idle mind. But busy also undermines our basic responsibilities as human beings. And, it’s a known fact that boredom inspires creativity.

Why then, are we equating our worth with how busy we feel? Do we feel that having less time on our hands makes us more successful? And what is it that you need to have less time for, that makes this lack of time such a good thing?

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” This Chinese proverb has stayed with me for a while now, I wouldn’t say I live by it, but it would certainly make life easier if I did. Sometimes doing nothing gets you further can countless inadvertent actions.

A bit late, but here's wishing you all a very Happy New Year! Let’s start this one doing a little less of something and a little more of nothing. I'm assuming that won't be too hard in the midst of a pandemic.