Busy

Busy // ˈbɪzi // 

Adjective - "Having a great deal to do" 

Recently, sitting down to write has been an effort, rather than a joy. I've tried and failed to coherently articulate my thoughts on the world around me. From political situations that I'm trying to grasp the potential consequences of, to the ongoing struggle of thousands still fleeing war (for more on that, read these beautiful words) - putting my thoughts in written form has been a struggle.

And, as I sit on my living room sofa for the first time in a week, I wonder if the problem isn't so much the issues in question, but a changed attitude within me. Put simply: I'm not prioritising time to write about things.

I thought recently about the importance of slowing down. But a few conversations with friends recently confirmed what I already knew: the culture of being busy isn't great for our wellbeing, and yet, we're still enslaved to it. It turns out that, like me, others have too many things to achieve; too many friends to keep up with; or simply feel the pressure of trying to conform by filling up every free hour of the day with fun things to do. 

'Busy' culture skews our priorities and if we're not careful, we can very easily forget the things we most enjoy. 

A quick definition of 'busy' culture: the generally adopted practice of constantly having lots to do. Especially present among our generation, 'busy' culture is the perceived idea that we should be striving to ensure our social lives are full, our evenings are occupied, and that we are doing, rather than being. It's usually perpetuated by society's pressure to juggle a full-time job with seeing friends, maintaining relationships, pursuing hobbies, staying healthy and portraying all of the above on social media. And the idea that everyone is doing the same somehow means that this culture continues.

Don't get me wrong. Being busy can be great. But the idea of busy culture isn't always helpful. 

So for me, writing has been put to one side as I integrate fully into my new town, catch up with my friends in the city, go to Church and go jogging. None of these things are inherently bad - in fact, they are each important in their own way - but over the years, I've learnt that putting pen to paper, hands to keyboard, is one of my favourite ways to process what's going on or to think through my thoughts or to de-clutter my head. Forgetting what I really enjoy doing is a key symptom of conforming to 'busy' culture. 

For others it's maintaining that language they used to speak fluently; or picking up that guitar they used to play. It's those things we do for a reason that's not quite significant enough to be part of our regular schedules; a hobby that perhaps doesn't fit into our daily lives. And of course the symptoms are so much more wide-ranging than this. 

I recently read an excellent article on how to feel less busy, and it included this:

"Our urgency-addicted culture is at the heart of the busyness problem. [...]When you're on this urgency treadmill, it can feel excruciating to attempt to slow down - but you may end up getting more done if you try." 

As well as beginning to heed my own advice on slowing down (and learning the lesson that writing things on this blog doesn't necessarily mean I'll do them) I'm struck by the challenges and temptations of 'busy' culture. This isn't a Christian problem; it's affecting our entire generation.

How can we better adopt slowing down? How can we impact our lives now, for the better, by refusing to conform to the sorts of busy that drain our wellbeing instead of enhancing it? 

I don't have the answer, but I do think that these are lessons we need to learn. I fear that without learning to fight against busy, we're becoming humans in need of help. Because we were designed for rest alongside work; breathing in and breathing out (and that's a whole other blog post waiting to be written). 

For me, it starts by putting pen to paper; hands to keyboard. Remembering what brings satisfaction and joy. Remembering to make time for slowing down.