We shouldn’t glorify being too busy

By Jill Girgulis, November 1 2016 —

We live in a society where the more tasks you juggle, the more impressive you are. But if you’re someone who always manages to complete what’s expected of you in a timely manner, people often assume you aren’t doing enough.

It isn’t enough for someone to just be a good student anymore — now, admiration is reserved for those individuals who manage to maintain a perfect 4.0 GPA while also teaching music lessons and playing competitive water polo five times a week, plus spearheading three university clubs and taking care of a geriatric Labrador retriever.

The whole idea of a resumé has also become skewed. Instead of a document to justify your suitability as a potential employee, it has transformed into a place for people to compile every possible experience they’ve ever had that might remotely relate to the job at hand.

Another reason this perception of busyness is here to stay is us — we love to talk about how busy we are, and I can understand why. It’s basically a low-key form of bragging that doubles as an opportunity to get stuff off your chest. You get the chance to point out all your responsibilities without coming across as obnoxious. On top of that, there’s no denying the fact that a surefire way to forge a connection with someone is to vent with them about a common complaint — and being busy is definitely something that we all have in common.

I’m not saying that being super busy is a bad thing, but our culture has shifted too far in the direction of rewarding those who split their resources and risk spreading themselves too thin. If given the chance, many people will choose to take on yet another project instead of devoting the last fraction of their energy to improving their current tasks. This fosters an environment of competitiveness amongst friends and classmates.

The simple fact is that everyone is busy. In some way or another, every person you encounter will have something that they need to get done by a certain time. A classmate of mine said it best — “everyone’s got their own stuff going on  and some days will be better than others.” But maybe at least we can help each other out.