
Busyness is Not a Virtue - raju
http://blog.idonethis.com/post/45912361388/busyness-not-virtue
======
rquantz
There have been a few articles recently complaining about people who complain
about being busy. They offer the keys to unlocking what people really mean
when they say they're busy, usually that they're super-important.

There is another thing that "I've been really busy" means: I'm sorry. I'm
sorry I haven't kept in touch. I'm sorry I missed your concert/art show/party.
I'm sorry I've been mentally absent, unfocused, and overwhelmed. Can we be
friends again?

~~~
rayiner
Recently, I've taken to just saying this directly. "OMG I'm so sorry X that I
haven't called in like months. I'm a total asshole and a terrible friend.
Lunch next week?"

"I'm busy" just sounds like "I have more important things than you."

------
drewcrawford
This is a fine article if you already believe that busyness is bad. The
trouble is that busy people are, by definition, people who think being busy is
a _feature_ not a _bug_.

For example, we can spin the wheel and play bug-or-feature:

> And when you start sounding like an appliance, it _makes it hard to connect
> with you_.

Bug or feature? Depends on your personality, depends on who's connecting with
you.

> This is one of the easiest outs for stuff I don’t want to do.

Bug or feature?

Another sentiment I see in TFA and the comments is that saying "I'm busy" is a
euphemism for "I don't care about you" so people shouldn't say it. But this
analysis assumes that the heaviest rock is for a person not to be rude. I
suspect that in many cases that if you remove the method for a polite brush-
off, you could get an impolite brush-off instead. Nothing has been done to
address the underlying motivation behind saying "I'm busy".

If you find yourself in the author's shoes being frustrated by how other
people are too busy for you, I might recommend reading some sales books and
figuring out how to make proposals that are more agreeable to others. Writing
a blog post about how other people need to change will not help you solve that
problem.

------
hashmymustache
While I agree that saying "I'm busy" can come off as "I'm super important," I
often use it as fill in for "I want to be alone with my thoughts." Often that
helps me feel more joy and mindfulness in my work because my focus isn't as
splintered. But I also procrastinate heavily, usually depends on the type of
work and how interested I am in it. The interplay between mood, goals, self-
control, work ethic, passion, etc is complicated. Things like this, breaking
down tasks and reorienting them sounds incredibly beneficial, I'm just too
busy to start.

------
louischatriot
I completely agree. A few months ago, I switched from being ultra busy on my
company to taking some time to do what I really enjoy. As a result, I actually
get more done now than before.

The article is well written, you should read it. Here is a tldr if you don't
have the time though: [http://tldr.io/tldrs/51680e1bc2bdcc645c000169/busyness-
is-no...](http://tldr.io/tldrs/51680e1bc2bdcc645c000169/busyness-is-not-a-
virtue)

~~~
raju
"Here is a tldr if you don't have the time though" - Nice. I see what you did
there.

------
forkandwait
I refuse to do what I think of as "building for inventory" -- working on
things that I don't see a clear downstream consuming process for -- and I try
to make everything I bother with perfect and part of a flow process (never
one-off). I am one of the most productive people in my office, while my
coworkers are always busy, busy and can't seem to get things done quickly.

------
sherm8n
If you're working at a big company you're almost required to be busy. In fact
you're looked down upon if you're not busy enough. How many times have you ran
into co-workers only to do a little smalltalk? You talk about the projects
you're working on and how slammed you are with work.

Being busy at the workplace is a way to seem important. You might run into
someone at the cafe and say hey we should catch up. Well, why wouldn't you
just catch up right then and there? That would be the most efficient route.
You're both already together in the same place at the same time. Do you really
need to rush back to your desk to do some more busy work?

------
swayvil
"How are you doing?" - "Keeping Busy"

It's an answer for original sin or low self-esteem or something; or fta :
guilt. By default, I suck. But if I'm busy then you can't yell at me for doing
nothing to alleviate my sucky effect upon the world, because I'm busy after
all.

A busy person is worthy of existence. Call them a disgusting , lazy, stupid,
stinky bum guilty of a thousand shameful sins - but at least they're busy.

------
euroclydon
I don't know why this should come as news to anyone here. It falls under the
general category of: _If you don't want to come across as a self-absorbed
prick, give people your full attention._ We've heard about Bill Clinton, that
when he spoke to someone, he made them feel like they were the only person in
the world at that moment.

------
lnanek2
> If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you’ll never have to worry about
> the important ones which are so difficult.

This is the toughest form of procrastination to avoid. E.g. it's easy to just
fill your day with things like reading news and doing email, but the coding
isn't going to get done that way.

------
obviouslygreen
This is just incredibly presumptuous. "Here's what _you_ probably mean when
_you_ say something." Thanks for that input, but I think I'll decide what I
mean when I speak.

Sure, some people sometimes use "I'm busy" as an excuse, or as something to
brag about, or for any number of other purposes. People say _all sorts of
things_ for those same reasons, though.

"I have plans."

"The cable guy is coming out that day."

"I just got a promotion."

"We just got a new dog."

All of these things, just like "I'm busy," can be used and are used as lies
_in addition_ to actually being valid excuses. I'm not sure where the author
got the idea this is somehow insightful or informative, or even remotely
unique to one claim.

------
scottandjames
I love that you quoted the Phantom Tollbooth.

"If you only do the easy and useless jobs, you’ll never have to worry about
the important ones which are so difficult."

That's the organizing hierarchy I use to schedule my day. Doing the most
important thing first means I feel a sense of accomplishment at the end of the
day, no matter what else I did not get through. It works better than "I'll do
this one thing real quick" or the easiest/hardest first, or even the one that
is due the soonest.

------
mjn
Earlier discussion of a similar article:
<https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4184317>

------
realguess
Less is more, as in coding.

~~~
InclinedPlane
It's funny, many coders are smart enough to figure out that the solution to an
O(n^2) algorithm is typically not more CPU cycles but changing to an O(n*log
n) algorithm (or what-have-you). Yet they often refuse to make the same
observations when it comes to their own productivity, they just throw more
cycles at the same algorithms and expect that to be the optimal solution.

~~~
Aykroyd
I wonder about that kind of argument. I find it super appealing because I
would love to work a lot less and yet get more done. Unfortunately I've found
that if I work more, I do get more done. Granted, there's a time for stepping
back and thinking about a problem rather than continuing to brute force your
way through it. And you can get to a point where you spin your wheels and it's
better to stop. But generally, more time spent does mean more done, no?

~~~
flyinRyan
Software development is a created process, like writing fiction. Imagine a
fiction writer doing a 60 hour (or hell, even a 40 hour) work week to try and
get more work done. It just won't work, certainly not long term.

~~~
alxp
But you do need to put in the practice time to be able to be productive when
you need to be. If your process involves a lot of procrastinating with
intermittent bursts of brilliance ,you won't be able to be relied upon when
things get tough. Stephen King became the writer he did because his wife would
tell him to write a story, the baby needs diapers, and he did.

So before you can work smart, you have to know how to work hard. Otherwise
you're just goofing off.

------
3minus1
I think the meaning behind "I am so busy" sometimes is just a true statement
and nothing more. I don't automatically assume the person saying it is
bullshitting me in some way. That said, I never say it. I'm usually the one
complaining about how I'm not busy enough, which is probably just as annoying.

~~~
bhc3
Agree that we do in reality get busy, and it's a legit thing to say at times.
My sense is the perpetually "I'm so busy" types are the subject of the post.

------
dpolaske
I agree, telling someone you're too busy is just telling them they are not
high on your priority list.

------
realrocker
I use the "I am busy" phrase to make boring people go away without being too
offensive.

------
hawleyal
*business

------
klrr
My mom always going around telling how busy she is, just annoying as hell...

~~~
TeMPOraL
Mothers, especially those of young children, tend to be legitimaly,
significantly busier than most of the other people.

~~~
rday
I liked reading this after reading the poll about how old average HN readers
are. Different ages have different priorities. Sometimes people aren't busy
simply because they want to be important, or feel that they are better than
you, or have over extended themselves. Sometimes people are actually busy.

Depending on where you are in life, sometimes you realize that the "Terrible
Trivium" is actually the people around you who keep demanding focus.

