Busy, Busy

I’m calling it, telling someone ‘I’m too busy’ is a bullshit excuse. 

 I am not saying I have never done it, I have, I did it last week. I’ve done it, you’ve done it, we’ve all done it (if you haven’t a gold star for you). 

 Sometimes it is said as a method of shrugging someone off, sometimes because we are in our own world doing our jobs that need to get done, or because we are getting our kids to school, or running errands on our only day off; sometimes it is just because you can’t really be bothered at that particular moment. 

“Sorry, I can’t talk now. I’m really busy”.

“I have to go now I am busy”,

“Can I call you later? I am busy”

“I can’t right now, I’m busy”

“I am just so busy!”

 It’s even a response as answer when someone asks you how you are.

 “I’m busy”.

“I’ve been so busy.”

”Busy, busy”.

 And you know what? It probably is a super accurate assessment; you may have been well and truly, really, super, crazy, out of this world busy but the reality is 99% of people are in the same boat. Like the sun rises in the morning and sets in the evening, life is busy!

 The reason I am having this ‘busy’ rant is because I recently said this to a co-worker when they asked for a favour. And yes I was legitimately really busy with my own work but the reality is I could have spared the five minutes it would have taken to help them out, like they had for me many times before but instead I said “No, I am sorry, I’m too busy”, and as soon as I said it I felt guilty, I felt like a self-important person, I felt like a bitch. 

 That is when I decided no longer would I say this as a reason not to help others, as a reason to hurry off, as a reason to end a conversation or to not even have one, I would not use it as a reason to not meet with friends or family or chat to them on the phone, I would not say it to my kids when they just want some of my attention.

 There are millions of people in this world that I am sure are much busier than I am. Many of these people find the time, make the effort and prioritise things to ensure that they can get what they need to get done but also so they do not have to use the excuse of “I am too busy.”  

 They find time for others, time for their family, time for their work, time for their other commitments, time for their friends and time for themselves. I’m not saying it is easy but it is possible. They have demonstrated this.

 So, if the head of government department can do it, I can too. I may not be able to always give hours of my time because things do need to get done, tasks completed, lists ticked off but in the scheme of things I can afford a few minutes to listen, to hear what people are saying, to help someone else who is also busy. I can make time for people in my life who can get forgotten or ‘rescheduled’ time and time again, to my children who want to ask me a question but I am trying to get a job done, I can STOP. I can be present.

 In a world where activities and really our entire lives, we should use them to help us free up some of this precious element, time. Instead of saying “I’m too busy” we should instead send a quick email or SMS or make a brief phone call or catch up,  to just check in. It is better than nothing at all, it is definitely better than “too busy”. 

 People appreciate it, it makes a difference. I know because when I went back to my co-worker half an hour after I told her I was too busy and asked her how I could help, she was so grateful and so thankful that a busy person could help another busy person by just giving a little bit of their time.