At school and in the workplace, the idea of “staying busy” often worsens the problems it promises to solve. We may have flashbacks of days in the classroom where we were assigned busy work, just to keep our minds occupied. In retrospect though, what did we really learn or accomplish?

 

Keeping this same train of thought as we transition into career and adulthood is important. It seems right to assume that the more busy we are, the more we’ll be able to accomplish. However, this isn’t always the case.

 

If you’ve ever seen any nature footage of a bear sitting by the edge of the water, you can see as they time their catch looking for the meal. How ineffective would it be for a bear to beat at the water for hours to have the impression that they worked hard, without an appropriate yield? 

 

Busy culture infiltrates every organization from top to bottom. At the head, CEOs and upper management work hard to show that they are successful, ambitious and productive. At the bottom are junior employees working to be seen and admired for this commitment and work. 

 

The ultimate way to beat busy culture is simply learning to say no more often. Say no when a task doesn’t align to your primary duties. By keeping an eye on the destination in front of you, you’ll keep yourself in line with the goal at the end of the tunnel. 

 

Everyone gets busy. The key is to keep the concept of business becoming chronic and inept. When we allow ourselves to feel accomplished just because we are busy, it will eventually become more negative than positive.