Busy Is The New Lazy

Before we get started, I want to ask you a quick question: how’s work?

By the end of this post, perhaps you’ll understand why I, more often than not, can answer that question right now.

We’ve all engaged in a conversation about work, listening [hopefully] and responding as needed. If you follow the normal protocols, you can walk away having learned something new or discovered new opportunities. However, somewhere along the line, the normal protocols changed on us.

Now, It seems as though you’re lucky if you can pull enough teeth to glean any valuable knowledge from a work conversation. Why is that? “How’s work?” is a question that elicits boastful monologues, drama-ridden gossip, and/or vengeful workplace war stories. We’re given full license to brag, celebrate, vent, and complain! However, we’re no longer taking advantage of this gratuitous opportunity.

Instead, we’re substituting our otherwise engaging response with a single word: busy. Expression can be added, occasionally, with an extended vowel or emphasized syllable: “buuuusy,” for example. Perhaps, a heavy sigh and a head-shake can be included for dramatic effect.

Since when can one word, no matter how dramatic and expressive, articulate the thing we spend most of our hours awake doing? Well, since we got lazy. It’s easy to reduce all of the things we do [or should be doing] at work to a generic answer. This saves time and requires minimal effort. Most importantly, it makes you sound important. That’s why we do it, right? Myself included. What paints a better picture of busyness and importance than not even having the time to fully explain your work?!

This sounds like a solid communications strategy until you realize that every working professional with any semblance of a workload does that exact same thing.

My point is this: as soon as “busy” became en vogue as a work status, its ubiquity across conversations demeaned its true meaning. Being busy is now so subjective and relative that no one knows what that really means.

Today, I’m deeming the word “busy” a cliche. It’s a lazy attempt at sounding important. And, it’s a conversation-killer [a major pet peeve of mine]! Next time someone asks you about work, offer that person a worthy response that facilitates a dialogue. Don’t leave him or her hanging with a vague, meaningless remark that may actually work counter to your intentions. Converse. Share. Learn.

On the flip side, at least you now know how to end a drawn-out exchange with a service provider trying to sell things you don’t need.

I should get going, I’m busy.