The State of Being Busy

Are you one of those people who constantly says “I am too busy.” Or if someone asks how you are, your immediate response is to complain about something or comment on your state of busyness. Isn’t it funny how busyness and business end up being the same word? And are you putting off things like personal growth, reflection, and development because that is just the last thing you have time for right now?

Being Busy ≠ Worth, Accomplishment or Value

We have culturally created a state of being busy as a benchmark for worth, accomplishment and value. I have even seen some cultures where nobody leaves before the boss even if the tasks at hand were completed hours later. And often the boss doesn’t even realize that is the culture they have enabled.

I used to teach workshops for a local community center on balancing our priorities, managing our schedules, and maximizing our time. It always amazed me how many people were beleaguered by the state of being busy. It was a badge of honor for some people and a cross to bear for others. And while everyone who came to the workshop was looking for relief and solutions to the problem, rarely did anyone recognize that they had created their own state of being busy and that only they had the power to unravel it and change it. I always received a lot of excuses about how outside pressures and influences were forcing them to be busy.

Is being busy a badge of honor?

I even had a woman attend the workshop on behalf of her husband who was too busy to attend so that maybe she could help him get less busy. In this particular case when we broke down his schedule, the key problem was that he was at the office for a minimum of 12 hours per day. When I challenged this and said that step one was for him to reduce his work hours which would entail deconstructing what was keeping him there so long and how that could change, out came the badge of honor. He was a civilian but he worked with key military personnel and he just couldn’t possibly leave or reduce his workload. He was too important. She regaled me with stories of his importance for at least half of the workshop.

It is important to note that at this time in my career I was a deputy chief of communications and considered essential personnel. I was required to be available 24x7 if called upon. So how was it that I wasn’t agreeing with her and his importance? How did I just not get it (her exact words)?

Set boundaries to create balance

The difference was and still is that I set boundaries. And those boundaries are often as fixed as concrete walls. My boundaries are what allow me to put 100+% into a given situation and create results and provide value. At the time, one of my boundaries was that I was on the 4:27PM bus home every day no matter what unless a critical incident had been called. This deadline was unshakeable. My assistant would hand me my belongings at 4:15. Meetings were declined if scheduled after 4:00PM and I would put on my trainers and head out the door power walking across the park to the bus stop.

And I made it a point to train everyone around me to understand what constituted a critical incident. I had absolutely no problem executing the duties of my position when needed but I was not going to allow a state of chaos or busyness to intrude on what valuable personal time I had for poor planning or lack of preparation. Those were teachable moments for regular business hours. I even discovered one day that someone had written in the Rolodex (yes I am that old) card for my name “Make sure it is an emergency first.” I had done my job to ensure everyone understood the boundaries. But still people questioned me. Why didn’t I stay late? Why wasn’t I always in the office? And when those questions were turned around and I said “Is there something I am not doing? Is work going unfinished?” The answer was invariably along the lines of being in awe of what I did do. They never figured out that by setting boundaries and not being at the office all hours, that I was able to hyper-focus for the hours that I was there.

Why is it hard to change?

So why do people find it so hard to set boundaries and stick to them? Here are a few:

• Fear

• Lack of leadership mirroring the behavior

• Ingrained cultural ties to the state of busy

• Not wanting to be seen as less than

• Poor planning or understanding of priorities

But what impact does this have on a team? If everyone is running around like rats in a maze or like chickens with their heads cut off then nobody is focusing on the end goal or the priorities. And if, as an agile team, we are truly practicing agility, that does not mean kick it into high gear and work ourselves to death because we are supposed to be able to turn out more in less time.

How does this impact teams?

What it does mean is, that as a team, we need to be clear on our purpose, the value that we are creating, and the capabilities of the members of the team to create the product or service. And when we determine our course of action, we need to ensure that we can do it within the confines of those boundaries. It also means that we have to be very clear when communicating with others what we can and can’t reasonably do with what we have and what value we can deliver. It also means that the team needs to present a united front on those goals. If the team sets a goal and then someone on leadership pressures for more and one person burns the midnight oil to do it because they feel obligated then the team as a whole will begin to either resent that person or unravel and all start tearing down their own boundaries.

And as leaders, it is our responsibility to protect the team from outside influences that will deconstruct what they have built as team culture. It is the leaders responsibility to be the go between with other entities to ensure that everyone understands where the team is in their value-driven efforts. Now, this does not mean that nothing will ever change or that we won’t change priorities. Of course that will happen and it is the nature of being agile. However, those changes need to be with intent and provide value not because someone lacks the forethought to plan ahead or to themselves create priorities in keeping with the goals that they have.

What can I do about it?

So as we begin 2021, think about where you may have created a state of busy but more importantly think about why you are doing it and what you can do to change. Ask yourself these questions.

• Why am I doing this?

• What value does it provide?

• What is the worst case scenario if I don’t do it?

Learn more about the work that we do and the programs that we offer. Set up a call to start planning how you want to change the culture of your organization.

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About the Author:

INDRA A. BOOKS

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