In Praise of Not Being Busy (Why You Should Slow Down)

The Cult of Busyness: In Praise of Not Being Busy

We’re taught from a young age that time is precious. Phrases like ‘waste of time’, ‘wild goose chase’ and ‘lost cause’ all infer that time hasn’t been spent to reap the best reward. You’ll probably need more than two hands to count the number of times you’ve heard someone say they’re ‘too busy’. You’ve most likely said this yourself at least once within the last month. There’s a whole lot of guilt surrounding not being busy.

But being busy can evoke two polar opposite concepts. On the one hand, productivity; on the other hand, busyness equates to stress levels running high. If you’re reading this in 2020, you’re likely experiencing some level of anxiety around the COVID-19 global pandemic. As we all struggle to meet a new structure to working and employment, the ‘cult of busyness’ has seen a resurgence.

Everyone is grappling to maintain some kind of routine and with this comes the forgetfulness to pause. We’ve become constantly in motion, flickering between ideas, projects and shiny new things just like a magpie. And this way of living isn’t healthy.

Ask yourself the following…

  • Am I dedicating time to one task or juggling multiple things at once every day?
  • When did I last check my phone/emails/social media accounts?
  • What was the last thing I did that I really enjoyed doing?

You can keep your answers to these questions private, but I’d recommend reanswering them in a week’s time after you’ve read this article. Here are three benefits of slowing down (and how to).

#1 Achieve, Don’t Do

Being busy all the time might seem like the most important thing in the world, but just how much are you actually achieving? Many of us fall into the trap of picking up lots of different tasks and chaotically moving back and forth between them. In this way, we never properly finish a single task (or it takes us much longer to do so).

Want proof of this point? Check how many browser tabs you have open. How many unread emails? How many post-its or lists line your (new WFH) desk space?*

*I usually have at least 8 tabs open and am guilty of split screen; I try to keep my email inbox below 50 unread otherwise it causes panic; and I have upwards of 3 lists on the go — a grand example of the fraught multitasker.

Although I’d love to believe in multitasking, achieving multiple goals at once with the same end value is simply not possible. When we do lots of things in one go, we’re challenging our mind to share equal levels of concentration and effort. This is not how our minds have been wired. As Ernest Hemingway famously wrote:

“Never mistake motion for action.” — Ernest Hemingway

So how do we overcome this need to do lots of things at once? The ‘achieve, don’t do’ mentality means focussing all of your attention on just a single task at any one time. Let’s call this ‘single tasking’. Ask yourself what your focus for the day/week/month ahead is and prioritise your tasks accordingly. Now work your way through these tasks one at a time.

Breaking down each task into something more tangible and specific will also help you achieve your end goal. For example, here are three vague goals:

  • Publish more blogs on my website
  • Read more books
  • Exercise more

When you translate these goals into more tangible tasks you get something like the below:

  • Publish one new blog a week OR write 500 words of a blog article before the end of the day OR create a list of ten new blog title ideas by the end of the week.
  • Read one chapter of ‘x’ book today OR spend 30 minutes reading ‘x’ book before bed.
  • Exercise 3 times a week (on Mondays/Wednesdays/Fridays) OR schedule a 20-minute yoga class for 8:30am every other morning.

What these goals all have in common are a numerical value and a timeframe for completion. Importantly, the goals need to be doable.

I’ll close with a quote from Susan Cain, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking [a book that personally enlightened me]: “Scientists now know that the brain is incapable of paying attention to two things at the same time. What looks like multitasking is really switching back and forth between multiple tasks, which reduces productivity and increases mistakes by up to 50%.”

#2 Make Time for Quiet

When was the last time you paused for air? In the ‘busy’ of the world around us, it’s easy to forget to switch off and take a moment to reflect.

We’re in an age that’s digitally switched on, surrounded by technology that endlessly buzzes away around us. Distractions abound in the form of overflowing email inboxes, social media feeds and the ultimate rabbit hole that is the internet. Our minds are preoccupied by the ‘what if’ and the ‘what’s happening elsewhere’ (#fearofmissingout) logic.

But what if we stopped trying to seek out answers to these questions? What if we let our minds wander? What if we actually switched off?

Carl Hororé, Canadian journalist and writer of In Praise of Slow: How a Worldwide Movement is Challenging the Cult of Speed (among other books) explained in his illuminative TED Talk:

“Right across the world, people are doing the unthinkable: they’re slowing down, and finding that, although conventional wisdom tells you that if you slow down, you’re roadkill, the opposite turns out to be true: that by slowing down at the right moments, people find that they do everything better. […] Speed becomes a way of walling ourselves off from the bigger, deeper questions. We fill our head with distraction, with busyness, so that we don’t have to ask, am I well? Am I happy? […] ‘Slow’ is a dirty word in our culture. It’s a byword for ‘lazy’.” — Carl Hororé

Making time for quiet in your day will not only be better for your health, it can also make you more productive in the long run. Taking a moment to replenish your mental energies can help you see things in a new light. Pausing is powerful. Reclaim your time by momentarily switching off from the world.

A simple and effective method of alleviating distractions is to switch off your phone and laptop (or at least leave them in a different room). Now, use this time to relax and be kind to yourself. Pick up a book. Go for a walk in nature. Meditate or practise yoga. Or just sit down and daydream, enjoying the calm of sipping a hot drink slowly. You do not need to be constantly doing something.

If you struggle to find time in your day to pause, implement a structure to your day where you assign time to different tasks. Use the framework mentioned above to highlight your goals for a day, making them as manageable as possible. Promise yourself at least a half-hour window within the day where you can truly switch off.

#3 Remember What You Love

When you’re busy being busy, it’s easy to forget why you’re being busy. Regain focus over what you’re doing by remembering what it is you love.

Whatever stage you’re at in your career, it’s not hard to be sidetracked and lose sight of why you started and where you want to be. Dreams are what keep us going. You don’t have to make a career out of your hobbies, but you shouldn’t sacrifice your hobbies at the expense of your career. Are you allowing yourself time to still do what you love?

Therapist and life coach, Sara Cameron, shares her thoughts in her TED Talk ‘How to Turn Busy into Balance’. She explains that:

“Being busy does not give us the fulfillment we desire. It does not give us greater connection with friends and family. It does not make us happier. And it doesn’t even make us more productive.” — Sara Cameron

If your career is consuming your time and leaving little space to pause or do what you love, it’s time to reflect. Is this the right career path for you? Is your current role emanating negativity and toxicity? Is your job bringing you some kind of joy or none at all? Is it stifling your true goals in life? Now’s the time to rethink your progress and look towards the future.

Maintaining a healthy balance between doing what you love and dedicating hours on end to the ‘busy’ of your work life is essential. Pursuing side projects, allowing for creative escapism or learning a new skill lets you not only have fun, but can also make you better at your job in the long run. Doing what you love shouldn’t come with the label of being ‘busy’.


So, give yourself permission to slow down and enjoy the calm of not being busy. After all, in the words of Carlin Daharsh, “does busy mean important?”.

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