Maybe I'm not so busy

I was traveling this week and while flying home I read a couple articles in "AmericanWay," the American Airlines magazine. In this Jan 2007 edition, Jim Shahin writes a very entertaining article on being busy. While entertaining, it is also very insightful. My favorite line is, "...the basis for civilized society rests in allowing for acceptable fabrication." The context of this line is that we all say how busy we are as a convenient way to avoid doing something else we are asked to do, or as a way to avoid responding to voice mails or emails. The other person is supposed to graciously accept this as your polite way of saying, you're not important enough for me to pause and help out. Another way he says the same thing is "polite mendacity lubricates the machinery of human interaction." Wow! I'm not sure what mendacity means (asked my wife -- lying), but he comments (tongue in cheek) that without overlooking our poor excuses we are " no better than most animals."

While I have to agree with why many of us say we are busy, it is clear that Jim doesn't approve. Neither should we!

I have never been more busy in my working life than I have been over the last 18 months or so. I've put in more time, had more emails, gone to more meetings, and traveled more in the last 6 months than during my entire 15 year career prior to that (no joke). I look back and see how many times I have said how busy I am, and stopped to talk about how busy I am. Again, looking back, I realize that many of the times the subject came up I was either asking for help, or trying to avoid giving it. I stand chastised! For Jim's article is primarily about what a poor excuse being busy is. He gives a great example about an encounter he had with Lee Atwater, and states that if Lee had the time to not be too-busy, then no one can use the excuse. At least they can't use it validly.

So, what am I going to do about it! It is still January. So, I'm going to resolve to not to be less busy, but to not let my busyness stop me from being a responsive and helpful person. It is too easy to say I'm busy, and in doing so avoid getting things done.