Being busy doesn’t make you special, so lay off the drama

We all know the type. The colleague that hurries past your desk with a furrowed brow. The person who’s always late to the meeting. The one who audibly sighs when allocated a new task. If asked how they are going, no matter what the situation, they will always have the same reply: “Oh! I’m just so busy!”

Being “busy” is a common refrain in the workplace, with some people clutching so hard to the descriptor that it’s basically part of their personality. But – and here’s the harsh reality – everyone is busy. Every single one of us has too many items on our to-do list, we’ve all got places to go and there are dozens of open tabs in our brains that are clamouring for our attention.

Being busy at work doesn’t make you special.Credit: The Image Bank

Yet, some people still fall willingly into the trap of “busyness”, wearing it like a badge that sets them apart from everyone else. Every workplace has this strain of colleague who thrives on the perception they are always working too hard and are under the pump.

There’s a name for this too: “productivity theatre”, which means performing actions that make you seem like you’re doing things, even if it doesn’t contribute meaningfully to any business outcomes.

Examples of this include attending unnecessary meetings when you don’t really need to be there or spending way too much time on admin tasks instead of prioritising the important ones.

Recent research of US-based workers by software company Visier found that more than 40 per cent of employees spent more than 10 hours a week on things that could be called productivity theatre.

You’re not special just because you don’t know how to effectively manage your workload.

It’s only too easy to get caught in the whir of being constantly busy, as it makes you feel important when everything’s urgent, and you believe you’re the only one who can solve it. It’s also incredibly draining to feel busy all the time, and is one of the contributing factors to burnout.

So how can you escape from this cult of busyness if you find yourself getting sucked into its vortex?

Well, the very first thing is to acknowledge that being busy is a universal experience. You’re not special just because you don’t know how to effectively manage your workload.

Secondly, stop glamorising overwork. Being over capacity is not something to be celebrated. In fact, the colleagues that should be applauded are those who can maintain a healthy life outside the workplace, and who prioritise spending quality time with their family and friends.

Lastly, take some ownership. Overwork can be a by-product of the inability to say “no” to helping others, especially your boss who might keep loading you up with new tasks. Learn how to politely but firmly decline new work if you’re already at capacity to protect your valuable time.

You are ultimately responsible for how you allocate your time at work, so the next time you hear yourself answering “busy!” to a simple query about how things are going, it’s probably a reminder to clarify the boundaries you’ve set for everyone around you.

There’s a popular quote that’s often attributed to Socrates. “Beware the barrenness of a busy life,” he wrote 2500 years ago. Civilisations may have come and gone, but I reckon the old Greek philosopher was onto something.

Tim Duggan is author of Work Backwards: The Revolutionary Method to Work Smarter and Live Better. He writes a regular newsletter at timduggan.substack.com

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