Stop Bragging About Being Busy: How to Kill Busy Culture

As we near closer to a new year, things inevitably start to get busier — gift shopping, Christmas parties and social events, work functions, wrapping up work projects, and the logistics of dealing with the festive season. While we can feel exhausted and drained after being so busy, we also feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. Boasting about 80-hour weeks, being proud of getting an average of four hours sleep per night or staying up until the early hours of the morning working hard — humblebragging about being busy has become so common that these damaging behaviours are worn as badges of honour rather than seen as a red flag.

The reality is that busyness kills productivity and takes us away from our families, friends, and more meaningful tasks or activities that bring us joy and fulfilment. Unfortunately, busy culture is more of a problem than it ever has been before. Our work and home life boundaries are blurred due to the ability to work remotely from any location and at any time, and this has been exacerbated by the pandemic. Busyness has become so normalised that we don’t know what to do when we’re not busy (there are only so many loaves of sourdough you can bake before the novelty wears off). Busy culture is not reserved for those in 9–5 jobs — busyness creeps into anyone’s schedule, such as the parent rushing to and from their children's extracurricular activities or the entrepreneur fixated on the “hustle culture”.

If depriving ourselves of time for ourselves and things important to us is so damaging, why do we continue to celebrate being busy all the time?

The pride felt when one is “busy” relates to the pursuit of wanting more, doing more, having more, and being more. Smartphones and social media mean we are more aware of what others are doing at any point in time, and therefore are more aware of what we “should” be doing. Being naturally competitive and comparing ourselves to others, we want to keep up with others and the image they are projecting to the world. Being “busy” has now become code for being wanted, successful, important, and admired. However, many people aren’t even aware that they’re chronically busy.

So, how can we avoid the busyness trap? Allowing ourselves to be less busy involves basing our lives around what is essential and eliminating everything else.

Schedule time for yourself

We all know the importance of taking time out for ourselves and practising self-care, but we seldom practice it due to feeling rushed all the time. As author Matt Haig said, “Just when you feel you have no time to relax, know that this is the moment you most need to make time to relax.” Take time for walks in the morning to think. Reserve weekends for things you genuinely enjoy and want to do. And put your work away!

Take a tech break

Create technology-free zones in the home and switch off technology for set periods every night to avoid electronic busywork. For example, I have “do not disturb” hours set on my phone so that I don’t get bombarded with notifications when I want to wind down. Even a set break of one hour per day can have a large effect. Phones and other devices are usually the first things we pick up in the morning and the last thing we look at before going to sleep at night. Try to force yourself to replace these habitual times with other activities such as reading, writing, or reflection.

Set boundaries in your day

Instead of running to back-to-back meetings or appointments — leaving little space in between for productive work — schedule space in your calendar to get meaningful work done. Designate “office hours” when you are open for work and discussions, and “shut shop” for the day when these hours are done. And don’t be afraid to say no — you don’t need to agree to things that you don’t want to do. Establishing better boundaries between work and personal life will reduce stress and fatigue.

Reframe productivity

Get comfortable with doing nothing and remind yourself that having free time does not equate to laziness or being unproductive. Productivity isn’t measured by how long you spend actively working. You don’t need to fill spare time with meaningless busywork — having nothing on the agenda is enriching and important to rest and recharge ourselves. Finally, let’s stop bragging about being busy and change the value we place on it. Instead of telling people how busy you are, take the opportunity to engage with them and talk about what you’re truly doing.