I was chatting with a friend a few months ago and had a great conversation about the word “busy”. Here is my take, let’s stop using that word.
When we ask “Are you busy?” we really don’t care if someone is busy. We are just too polite to ask the question we want to ask.
- Are you successful?
- Do you have clients?
- Can my needs be more important than yours?
- Are you doing your job?
- I need help.
In the same respect, when we say “I am busy”, we really aren’t trying to convey how busy we are. We are too polite to say what is really going on.
- I am overwhelmed.
- I have no work life balance.
- I need to feel important.
- I am doing my job.
- I need help.
We live in a culture that views “busy” as a good thing. Busy = productive (despite every study showing this isn’t the case). So again, I suggest we all stop using the word busy and start using the words that we really want that word to mean.