I’ve found the phrase “I’m busy” comes up in my conversations more and more recently. It appears I’m not alone. But this blog entry isn’t to talk about how we as a country feel an incessant need to stay occupied, but rather about using that as an excuse.
A few weeks ago a gentleman I was seeing, and with whom I thought there was mutual chemistry, told me he wasn’t interested in seeing me any longer because he didn’t have the time to invest into the relationship that he thought it deserved. In short, he was too busy to have a relationship, at least with me.
I’ve found myself using “I’m busy” as an excuse on why I haven’t done something or another: responding to an email, getting together with friends, etc. But frankly, the excuse is hogwash. We’re all busy. Yet we somehow make time to do the things that we deem important to us.
We’re at one of the most stressful parts of the release cycle at work. Long hours at the office and insanely packed days are the norm, but I still need to make downtime for me and time spent with my friends. Yes, that may mean living even more rigedly by a schedule for the next several months, but that’s better than living under a merky haze of being ambigiously “busy”.
So I’m purging “I’m busy” from my vocabulary, becoming even better friends with my calendar, and making time to do things that are important to me.
Digital Ramblings 
“Yet we somehow make time to do the things that we deem important to us.”
This reminds me of the addage, “If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it.”
Looking this up for the exact wording, one place attributes it to Lucille Ball, with the added sentence: “The more things you do, the more you can do.”
And that reminds me of the quote, “Happy as a clam,” which I never really “got” until I looked it up and found out that it’s been shortened over time. The full quote is, “Happy as a clam at high tide,” which makes a lot more sense.
But I digress.
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Related posting
A recent related post from a blog that I follow.
http://www.nerdfitness.com/blog/2012/07/26/priorities/
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I’ve been in discussions with ministers on this, they suggested instead of saying “I’m busy” as a way not to take on an additional task, to say “That isn’t important to me right now.” which is much truer, and in some ways more empowering.
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