Being Busy

Busy! Everyone is busy. No one has any time. Busy, busy, bees, just buzzing around, flitting from one thing to another. . . Oh. I guess it’s just me. Well, allow me to speak for myself.

I am busy as hell. I have a family, three big projects at work–two that hinge on me doing my job well and staying diligent–four people to supervise, and damn it I’m still looking for my next career move. Not to mention I have a neglected blog, a messy house, and three email accounts that look like trash.

Very busy.
But not productive.

In today’s society, busy is still hailed as a good thing. It’s equated to having a full life. Even kids aren’t safe. Lord knows teenagers are being forced to be busy without really paying attention to self-discovery and development. They are just doing stuff all the time. And the ones who aren’t are considered normal–bad–or worse, lazy–double bad.

Busy is a curse. It is not something to aspire to. Look at the definitions. They are basically saying busy means “chicken with its head cut off.” Aimless, wandering, doing crap for the sake of doing crap.

Now back to me specifically. I am busy. I have a lot going on. But it’s all haphazard and disjointed. There’s no flow, no order, and no real productivity. EVERYTHING IS IN PROGRESS.

The ever-growing basket of clothes to wash and fold. . .   in-progress. Grading assignments is in-progress. The projects that keep getting more demanding with unexpected “action items” are in-progress. Like, hello! You are the expert. Figure out what you need to me to do and give me a list! Stop asking me two days before you need it! This project is your only job right now, but it’s only 2% of mine!

I’ve got to be honest. I’ve been so busy, I’ve been half-assing everything since August. Yup. And now, I get to spend my two weeks of much deserved vacation untangling the web of unfinished crazy I’ve designed for myself.

Busy has gotten me no where. I don’t feel more socially acceptable. And actually, I’m not even social. Busy is a no-no. Even now, as I type this, my attention has diverted no less than seven times in fifteen minutes. What’s that sound? Did I put the food away? Shoot, that reminds me, I should wash a load of laundry. I know. It’s sad. Don’t worry, I’m judging myself. Also, I’d like to call BS on the saying about no one is busy, it’s all about priorities. Busy is a real thing. It is very possible to have so much to do that you are busy. However, that is when you need to make a plan and get productive, so you can move out of the state of busy.

And that is my new plan. Be productive. I’d love to say it’s well formulated and I have planners, and stickers, and apps to keep everything in line, but I don’t. Just kidding. I do. I just got too busy to use them. Soooo, instead of thinking the next best planner will change my life, I’m just going to sit my booty down and push forward. There is no great plan or awesome motivational article. I need to go old school. Just do it!

Resources for productivity:

Helpful Apps	Helpful Articles
These are the apps I use. I live by my calendar and Any.do is great to-do list app. I like Habit Bull to help for my challenges and fasts, so I don’t use it that often.	These articles were suggested reading for my class in the time/attention management class. Some of the suggestions were really helpful.
Any.Do	To Control Your Life, Control What You Pay Attention To
Habit Bull	How to Unlock Your Productivity with Attention Management
Google Calendar	31 Things Successful People Do To Increase Their Productivity at Work
	50 Ways to Increase Productivity and Achieve More in Less Time