Banish “busy”!
Being both a stickler for words and a student of workplace issues, I’ve been paying more attention lately to the “crutch” words we use when we talk about work. I encounter these in my own office (not least from myself!), from my students, from my friends on Twitter, and in countless articles about the way we work today.
Here, then, is my nominee for Public Enemy #1 in the category of “crutch” words:
Busy.
Someone asks, “How’s it going?” We say, “Good — but I’m soooo busy” or “Ack — I’m SO busy” or just “Busy, busy, busy.” Often, we don’t even pause to think why we’re so busy, or why the busy-ness isn’t getting better over time.
The way I’ve used the word, and the way I’ve heard others use it, it’s like talking about the weather: “I can’t believe how rainy it’s been” turns into “I can’t believe how busy I’ve been.” As though busy-ness is something that just happens to us.
Well, UNlike the weather, busy-ness is something that everybody talks about that we CAN do something about. So in the interest of reminding myself that I’m responsible for my own working life, I’ve stopped using “busy” and started using expressions like these:
- “I have a lot on my plate right now.”
- “I’ve taken on too many commitments, and now I’m trying to figure out how to balance them.
- “My schedule has been hectic, but that’s my own fault.”
Sure, these are just semantic tricks, but the words we use shape the way we think. And I’d rather think clearly about the way I work, instead of acting like the universe has dropped a big pile of “busy” on my plate and there’s nothing I can do about it.
Down with “busy”-itis!
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Now over to you, dear reader:
What are the worst “crutch” words YOU hear at work?
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(Photo by wanderingseoul61.)
Category: The language of business9 Comments so far
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IMHO many people @ work are often not as busy as they say they are. It is a psych-out like at school before a test when people either say “OMG i studied sooo hard” or “OMG i totally didn’t study”. At work, if you don’t say you are busy, then the general opinion of you is that you really don’t have enough to do or you are some sort of slacker.
my experience has been that people that suffer from “busy-itis” are more often than not the employees that do not allow for themselves to be better organized. the reason for this is that they are “too busy”. it really is a vicious cycle.
The definition of busy:
1. One who does not have time to read blog entries, and certainly not write one.
2. The opposite of someone who has the time to forward blogs to the company .
Esin - Good point. Too many office cultures put no emphasis on depth (doing the right things, working with an eye toward the long term, etc.), therefore don’t award the un-busy worker.
Steven H. - Just so. And when you’re caught in that cycle (esp. if reinforced by bad office culture), it’s *very* hard to see your way out.
“busy” - The difference, in my case, is that writing blog entries *is* a key part of my job. ; )
Hmmm….maybe you can come help me explain to my boss, then, that I am not going to take on the unfinished project of one of my coworkers who quit, because it would make me too busy. And, once I’ve been fired for refusing to be a team player, you can pay me until I find a new job.
Seriously, though, you must realize that for most of us, it’s not an option to take things off our plate at work. This isn’t the kind of economy where you can just say “no” to work requests because they will make you “busy.”
Busybee — Hey, if I’m coming across as too flip about this, you’re right to call me out. But it’s not meant in a flip way. I know far too many people (and read about still more) who feel absolutely overwhelmed . . . because of their OWN actions. For example:
–They don’t prioritize.
–They don’t review the mass of things they’re doing to figure out which ones are useful & which ones are useless.
–They don’t even ASK about which tasks are more important to their bosses.
Listen, traditionally I’ve been the *worst* about heaping things onto my own plate. I’ve also been in the position of having to sprint through my workdays just to keep the various plates spinning. But when I’m honest with myself, I’ve *always* had a big say in how “busy” I am.
Seems to me that a down economy is the best time of all for us to replace “busy and frazzled” with “active and productive.” Or, in other words, to leave behind the bad habits of “busy”-ness — so we can get more done.
Or am I crazy? Over to you.
You’re right, part of it is organization, there is lots of wasted time at the coffee pot (or surfing the net–case in point me.) I think what you’re also saying is some if it is mindset– replacing the thought and term “busy” with “productive” or something more positive can help to prevent feeling frazzled. I would agree with that to a certain point.
I think it’s a matter of knowing what you can’t change (a truly full, or overfull, plate at work) and what you can (attitude, for example). I would bet that sometimes, when you had those plates spinning, you couldn’t put any down, because it would affect your livelihood or your reputation. But you can change the way you think about everything you have going on so that it doesn’t cause additional stress.
Busybee — You’ve hit upon my view exactly when you talk about “mindset.” SO often, we can help ourselves out - in terms of our emotions, our productivity, even our livelihoods - if we do many of the same actions, but with a better-balanced mindset.
A clearer head, one that that doesn’t accept the need for crazy “busy”-ness as a given, can help a person see through the ephemera to what’s real.
And sure, *sometimes* an employer insists that we fit a bushel of work into a quart jar. It’s not fair, we’ll have to overwork, and probably we’ll wig out about it to some degree. But even in that case, if we start with the most important things on the list and do a swift, competent job on them, we can save ourselves a ton of grief later.
The problem with “busy” is that it often obscures priorities, such that we can’t tell which things are most important. And when “everything’s a priority,” then nothing is. So we dither, we run around in circles, nothing much gets accomplished . . . and we’re back where we started.
But a better mindset from the beginning can interrupt this vicious circle.
Thanks for the exchange of ideas!
I recently contacted a vendor to get some programming done. When I asked how he was doing, he replied, “Overwhelmed”. That is the LAST thing I want to hear. It tells me they have too much work and no time for mine.
“Productive” should be used by those who have contact with the public, to keep the attitude positive. Why would any company give the appearance that they have more than enough work and clients?