Let’s stop talking about how busy we are

 Several times a day, each of us is greeted by people asking: “How are you?” or “How’s your day going?” and I am sure each of us at some point has replied with:… “Busy.”

Saying you’re busy is a conversation-ender. It’s not inviting or welcoming. Whether it’s intentional or not, it’s shutting down the other person. I know I’ve been guilty of this, too, but it’s something I have been diligently working on for a few months

. When you say you’re busy, it can be perceived that you think you are busier than other people, or you are doing more important work than others. Granted, we all have different priorities, but the last thing I want to do is put someone else down or imply their priorities are inferior to mine.

I think the truth is we are all busy, and everyone has their own interpretation of what busy means. An easy translation for saying you’re busy is that you’re doing important things.

We need to remember that what’s important varies between people. To one person, their child’s activities and school-volunteer roles are the most important, while for other people it’s their work at the office, and for some it could be training for an upcoming triathlon.

At the end of the day, this isn’t a debate over whose tasks are more important. I am writing about how answering “busy” when asked “How’s your day going?” is not a great way to answer the question.

I’ve read accounts from business owners stating that saying you’re busy is sending the message to potential customers that there’s no room to prioritize them and you already have too many clients to manage. Instead, the better answer could be: “We have a lot of exciting things happening and we’re in an exciting time of growth.”

Sometimes, saying you’re busy is used to demonstrate importance. This could actually come across that the “busy person” has poor time management and it sends the message that they are too disorganized to manage their life.

I was chatting with a friend about this column, and she said that replying with “busy” might just be a new buzzword, and people answer without even thinking what they are saying. It’s similar to the way the word “like” gets added to sentences without serving a purpose. I think we need to start re-thinking what the word “busy” means. If life becomes so overwhelming that the only answer to “How are you?” is “busy,” that’s a problem.

Over a year ago, I wrote about the daily routines of CEOs and other successful people. I am fascinated by how successful people spend their time and I am constantly working to find a better way to spend mine. I’ve worked hard to streamline decision-making, waking up early and prioritizing responsibilities. These are tools and techniques that help me accomplish more in less time.

I have been inspired to use a time-management app that allows the user to enter in all the daily tasks from family, work, hobbies, sleeping and anything else one might do. Throughout the day, I select the task I am working on, and the app tracks the minutes I spend working, volunteering and writing this column. At the end of the day, a chart is generated to determine exactly where the 1,440 minutes of the day went.

There’s a video circulating on the internet with Bill Gates and Warren Buffett talking about time. Buffett said he can buy anything he wants in the world, except time. My budget is significantly smaller than Buffett’s, but we both get the same amount of time every day, and no matter how much more privileged he is than I am, that will never change.

There will always be people with more privilege and luxuries than the rest of us and they might devote less time to work or chores. But, if we take finances out of this equation, each of us has 24 hours a day or 1,440 minutes. We choose how they are spent.

Time isn’t a balance that can be brought forward, so we need to spend it wisely. When this can be done, we will all feel less busy.

Charla Huber is the director of communications and Indigenous relations for M’akola Group of Societies.

This article was published in The Times/Colonist.