The Delusion of Being Busy

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Happy New Year! I want to start this year by thinking about our very busy, hectic lives. It seems that even though we have so much more convenience nowadays then probably at any other point in history, it actually feels as if we have less time. Why? Conveniences are by definition things that should make your life easier, for example microwaves, washing machines, cars, computers, etc, etc. So many things that have been invented have allowed us to streamline our work, our home, our lives, you’d think that we’d have an over abundance of free time on our hands. But we don’t. Why? Because even though we improve our efficiency, we have been tricked into believing that we are lazy unless every waking moment is filled with keeping ourselves busy.

Think about it, when do you ever just sit and enjoy the day? Have a drink, read a book, listen to music, or even just do nothing. It’s a rare luxury to be able to just enjoy your time without distraction or interruption. And if you do find the time to just relax and be present in the moment, it’s not typically something to boast about. Most people humblebrag about their busy schedules. Their constant on the move existence. Work, kids, school, gym, errands, volunteering, hobbies, cleaning, cooking, gardening, . . . the list is endless. They want acknowledgment about how amazing they are at juggling so many things, even at the point of exhaustion and depression. And it never occurs to them to do less. In fact, most people will add more to their schedules in a vain attempt to keep up with the busy schedules of those around them. Think about your own life, when you have a day off, do you use it to relax and do nothing, or would that make you feel guilty about all of the other things you “really should be spending your time on.” We’re losing the ability to just be, to exist alone with nothing but our thoughts. And why is that?

I’d argue that it has a lot to do with keeping us complacent. Previously the masses were kept busy with menial labor. There were a lot less conveniences, thus making general chores much more labor intensive and there were no labor laws to prevent the exploitation of those working menial jobs. People were kept busy with the struggle to survive. But eventually labor laws were enacted to prevent the unfair exploitation of workers and various technology developed to ease the burden of everyday chores. People could now find time to focus their energy on other things, find a hobby, relax, just live and enjoy life, instead of constantly struggling to survive. (Obviously, things are still not perfect and labor laws have not been maintained in a way to ensure fairness to low-paying workers, but that is a discussion for a future blog.)

Anyway with the ability to enjoy life, people became more open and accepting. Civil rights flourished, discrimination began to decrease. We could all live together, we didn’t need to spend our time blaming someone else for our misfortunes. But that wasn’t acceptable. Our new just society would continue to create more freedom and fairness to groups that had previously been marginalised, and those so use to always having the power got afraid. But how to regain that power? How to make people so busy again that they are no longer enjoying life and instead once again blaming others for their misery, too distracted to notice the real issues affecting them? You obviously can’t take away conveniences. Technology and progress isn’t going to just disappear, not to mention it is also extremely lucrative for those at the top. Labor laws are vulnerable, but can’t be dismantled that easily in our democratic system. So what to do? The key is in the desired result. Keep the masses busy. All you need to do is convince people that they are lazy if they aren’t constantly busy. Reinforce the idea that to succeed in life, requires personal investment in everything. You must work extra hours at your job if you want that promotion, you must enrol your kids in every conceivable extracurricular activity if you want them to be successful adults, your house must always be immaculate, your cooking healthy, your appearance flawless. And if you slack on any of these things, then obviously it is just because you’re too lazy. Your neighbors, co-workers, friends are all doing this and more, so you really have no excuse. Then once those ideas are fully ingrained, people will just automatically keep themselves constantly busy. They will feel too guilty about doing nothing, that they won’t question it even at the expense of their own mental health. And as the stress to do it all and be successful mounts, they’ll begin to blame others because there won’t be time to really think logically about their situations. Instead blame your failure to get the promotion, or your child’s rejection from that prestigious university, not on yourself because obviously you’ve been running yourself ragged doing everything you are suppose to do, but on something else. And what else could it be? It has to be others getting handouts and stealing what ought to be yours because no one else could have possibly worked as hard as you. And the people at top reinforce this idea. How many times do you hear the ultra-wealthy complain about the lack of work ethic nowadays? Or how many articles do you read about how the rich micro-manage every second of their day, sleeping only a few hours because they are so busy, with the implication being that their success is solely dependent upon how hard they have worked. And what an idea to sell to the masses! Anyone can succeed if all you have to do is work hard. So everyone buys into it, ignoring the fact that most ultra-wealthy people were born with privileges (financial and social) that the average person will never have and that normal everyday chores (cleaning, cooking, childcare) can easily be delegated to employees, another thing the average person will not be able to do. The system has never been designed to reward hard work, it is designed to benefit those at top by keeping the masses too busy to question it.

We keep ourselves busy in order to succeed. We believe that with just a little more hard work our lives will be infinitely better. Yet, even as everyday conveniences continue to improve the daily struggles we face, we are feeling more exhausted, stressed, and depressed; barely able to keep ourselves afloat. We’re constantly bombarded with the idea that we are just too lazy if we aren’t succeeding. And so we try to shove more into our lives because we must not be doing enough and when we still don’t succeed and are too exhausted to even think, we look for someone else to blame. And those that benefit from this cycle, perpetuate the idea that all you need to do is work harder. But that isn’t true. Life should be getting easier. Modern conveniences should allow for everyone to enjoy their life and free time. We shouldn’t be this stressed out, this exhausted. And the only way is to make the decision that being busy does not equate to success. We must demand our free time back!