The Ugly four letter word – “Busy”

I have removed this word from my vocabulary as it’s such a 4 letter word to hear someone say (especially in business). I am guilty of using it in the past and since have consciously keep myself from ever using it again…Be “Productive” instead!

We all hear someone respond with the word “busy” in our daily elevator conversations after asking “How’s it going?” or “How is work treating you these days?”. Though a busy person is doing more and may feel distracted, they are actually less effective at what they do. We first must recognize that our tasks either requires more or less time to complete them even if we actually work directly on them or simply thinking about them. A dreadful deadline, a challenging decision, or how to respond to a disgruntled co-worker creates a mentally distraction in our minds in which doesn’t allow us to fully engage in meaningful conversations. Please remember that telling someone your “busy” could be perceived as politely saying they don’t have time for you.

In a Harvard Business Review, entrepreneur Meredith Fineman says, “To assume that being ‘busy’ (at this point it has totally lost its meaning) is normal, cool, or brag-worthy, or tweetable, is ridiculous.”

https://hbr.org/2013/09/please-stop-complaining-about

Next time someone asks about your day, simply say “fine” or to the other extreme of what I like to say, “great to be alive!”