“Busy” is a four-letter word

Today’s Wall Street Journal has a nice column by Elizabeth Bernstein on the use of “I’m busy” as a point of pride. (It’s behind the paywall at wsj.com/articles/youre-not-busy-youre-just-rude-1489354275. Seriously, consider a subscription; it’s a great newspaper. You may not always agree with the editorial page, but the reporting is high quality and neutral. These days, we need to support real journalists.)

According to Bernstein, studies have found that “busier people are perceived as having a high status. ‘We place a high value on hard work and rewarding effort, which is really rewarding activity and not necessarily achievement,’ says Woody Woodward […] Bernstein encourages us to stop using “busy” as a positive description but, instead, to focus on what specifically is eating up our time—and, just as importantly, to own our free time as rightfully ours.

Reflecting on my latest conversation with a colleague, I realized that I was guilty of this. “Yes, work’s really busy right now” I said, when asked how things were. Of course, solopreneurs know that clients keeping us fully employed is critical to success, but “busy” isn’t really the best description of what the optimal state looks like. And sometimes “busy” means I feel overwhelmed, not working on client projects.

So, I’ve developed a new lexicon to replace the word “busy”:

  • “Working on several projects right now; it’s fun to have a variety of things going at once.”
  • “I have a really time-consuming project right now. It’s nice to have the work, and I’ll be glad when it’s done.”
  • “I have a break in my client work right now, so I’m spending more time working on my marketing.”
  • “I feel stretched pretty thin right now. I’ve got some family responsibilities that have me feeling kind of anxious.”

And when I find myself NOT juggling four client projects, a bathroom remodel and house guests, I can embrace that, too. There are days when I feel caught up on my to-do list, I have social media posts in the pipeline, and my clients all have long deadlines. When those days happen, I can step back and decide that today I don’t need to be “busy”. I can use one of the best perks of being self-employed—I can give myself a guilt-free day off.

See more of my thoughts about managing yourself.

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