Why is ‘Busy’ My Least Favourite Word in the Dictionary?

Busy. Druk. Beschäftigt. Occupé. Ocupado. Occupato. Zaneprázdnený.

We are all busy. We have an endless list of competing tasks and priorities at work and in our private lives. So, how do we balance it all and remain present and respectful in moments when our full attention is required?

What doesn't work

First, I will answer the question by sharing what I think does not work:

I find multitasking to be the enemy. Normally, it means I am not fully engaged in one subject because I am trying to juggle several. This may mean trying to field emails or Microsoft Teams messages while on a conference call, or simply being unable to focus on a task because I am already thinking about the next one.

Tips to avoid the busy

What do you do then? Here are a few things that I do to try to control the busy (well that’s not really possible, but at least I feel more in control).

1. Meetings

I try to close (log out of) either my Outlook or my Teams and focus on the current conversation. By leaving one open (logged in), I am still reachable in case of an emergency, but I have cut the distractions in half. For a meeting where I really need to focus, I also put my mobile phones on silent.

2. Calendar management

Working remotely means sometimes 8 hours or more of back-to-back video calls. Sometimes I am double-booked. In this case, I try to decline the meeting and give a comment, or decline the invite with a request for another time. When it is not possible to move and I still cannot go, I try to send another team member in my place, or ask for minutes after the meeting has taken place.

3. Emails

Sometimes, a response to an email takes some time or you have to complete some actions before you can give a proper response. Even if the email is not ‘done’, I try to reply with an update—something like ‘I will work on this tomorrow’ or ‘I will come back to you by the end of the week’.

As I’ve mentioned before, everyone is busy. However, I find that the above reminders not only help me manage the busyness but also show respect for other people’s time and their busyness. We should never use being busy as an excuse to be inconsiderate or unprofessional. For example, there is no point to showing up to a meeting if you are not going to pay attention, so much so that you miss information and have to ask everyone to go back to a previous point/slide just to catch you up. It is simply counterproductive.

So, going into the new business year, we should ask ourselves, ‘What can I do this week/month/quarter to be more present and mindful, and ‘control’ the busy?’