Why is everyone so busy? Almost a century ago, economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that we would work only fifteen hours weekly. Incomes would rise, and so would our leisure time.
But that is not the case. Incomes have increased, but we have continued to work long hours. Why did this happen?
One answer is that people like to be busy. This article argues that people fear idleness and are generally happier when alive than when there is nothing to do.
However, it is essential to have a reason for being busy. People choose idleness without a justification for activity, even though they prefer to be active. If we keep ourselves alive and need a basis for doing so, this suggests that our actions may be self-imposed.
The reasons for our collective restlessness
Listen to this article.
We feel too busy, but there is evidence that at least some of this activity is unnecessary. How can we explain this discrepancy?
I have a few theories:
Attendance is a signal. Busy people are essential. Complaining about being alive is like complaining about paying too much tax: it’s a way to communicate your status subtly.
Attendance is a way to avoid commitment. Pretending to be busy is a socially acceptable way to decline social obligations. “I’d love to, but I’m too busy” is more polite than “No, I’m not very interested in your nephew’s piano recital.”
Attendance is self-deception. When working on things, your goal is always to have less to do. Since it’s better to have fewer things to do as part of your plan, you may be wrongly extending it by assuming that it’s ideal not to have separate roles.
Another plausible explanation is that attendance exists on a spectrum. We may abhor idleness, but being too busy stresses us out. There is a middle ground that works for us, and it’s hard to adjust that amount.
Finding the right balance of activity
I’m happiest when I’m too busy. Not so much that I feel overwhelmed, but enough that I feel like I need more time to do everything.
I think that for most people, there is a scale from total boredom to exhaustion and that the ideal level of activity is somewhere in between:
By observation, some people seem happier when they are closer to the “relaxed” end of the spectrum. In contrast, others need more activity to feel satisfied. This difference may even have a biological basis. Everyone has their setting for optimal stimulation.
In addition, you may find yourself temporarily outside the spectrum. It is always possible to make more commitments than you think and feel busier than ideal. Having few immediate outlets for activities and feeling bored and aimless is also possible.
There are two different parameters in calculating busyness and happiness: first, what your ideal benchmark is, and second, whether your temporary situation is above or below that optimal benchmark.
What are good reasons to be busy?
As the study’s authors point out: we need a reason to be busy. Even if we prefer to be active, we don’t do things for the sake of doing them.
The quality of that reason makes a big difference. A compelling reason can lead us to over-commit ourselves if we’re not careful. But if you have a good reason to be active, finding enough things to do to reach the optimal level can be easy. I fluctuate between having a passion project (which sometimes stresses me out) and having no project and feeling aimless.
Finding a good project to keep you busy can take time and effort. Just wanting to fill time is not enough of an excuse.
Goal setting and planning are vital because they are the tools we use to find motivating activities. Making concrete improvements in your life may be secondary to the well-being of having a reason to be optimally busy.
Are you short on time?
Strictly speaking, we all have the same amount of time per day. No one has more or less. More accurately, a lack of time is a conflict between priorities.
A problem of being busy occurs when your activity has little intrinsic enjoyment. If you are forced to work long hours at a job you hate, you must satisfy your psychological needs in the little time you have left. This can be tricky.
Expectations are another problem. If you intend to work full-time, stay in shape, spend quality time with your children, and pursue your friends and hobbies, you may need more time to do that at your desired level. The result is frustration, even though the hours in the day have remained the same.
All of this can make the experience of being overly busy unpleasant, even though you’re still working the same twenty-four hours a day as everyone else.
Unconventional strategies for optimizing busyness
There are several levers we can pull to optimize the busyness in our lives:
Adjust expectations.
As I mentioned, expecting too much of yourself (or too little) is a recipe for stress. Sometimes, the key is to take a step back and ask yourself what is realistic. You may need to relax if you’re already on the edge of productivity.
We rarely feel like we should be busier. Instead, we feel as if we have nothing important to work toward. Setting compelling goals can raise your expectations and force you to engage in life in a way that makes you happier.
Find a more fulfilling job, friends and hobbies.
If you spend a lot of time doing things that don’t satisfy you psychologically, you may feel that your time could be better.
Work can be a significant culprit. If you feel dissatisfied with your job, Cal Newport’s book is still my favourite on career satisfaction.
However, friends and leisure activities can also be a drag. Do you feel overwhelmingly busy but spend hours watching Netflix or surfing on your cell phone every night? The problem isn’t a lack of time but a lack of activities that meet your needs.
Create more filters and restrictions
Feeling temporarily too busy or on board is often a problem balancing new opportunities with existing commitments. We feel restless and bored when the flow of upcoming opportunities is a trickle. When the flow is a torrent, we feel overwhelmed.
Better management of this flow can solve some of the hustle and bustle problems. If you feel overwhelmed, tighten your restrictions, so there are more new opportunities by default of “no”. If you feel idle, relax those restrictions and start saying “yes” to more speculative opportunities.
Different sources of obligations may need to be managed differently. For example, I almost always say no to requests to speak, but I often accept podcast interviews because the time commitment is much less than a prepared speech. Usually, when we are too busy, a particular source of obligations needs to be appropriately managed.
These strategies are more effective in the longer term. Consistently applying the above principles can help you work toward a lifetime of optimal busyness months and years from now. Still, there are fewer remedies for feeling too busy right now. Ultimately, however, finding the right balance of engaging and meaningful activities is one of the best ways to live better.
