Keeping Busy? Is That Really the Point?

Someone recently asked me, “Are you keepign busy?”

It’s an innocent enough question. One we’ve all asked and answered without giving it much thought.

But it got me wondering when **keeping busy** became some sort of measure of how well we’re living.

Think about it. We ask people if they’re keeping busy as though the alternative is somehow undesirable. As though having nothing pressing to do is a condition that needs correcting.

And we’re almost expected to respond with some variation of, “Oh yeah, busier than ever.”

Wonderful. Congratulations. You’re apparently winning at life.

## When Did Keeping Busy Become the Goal?

We’ve somehow managed to confuse keeping busy with being productive, and being productive with having a purpose.

But those aren’t necessarily the same things.

You can spend an entire day running from one task to another, answering emails, attending meetings and checking things off lists without accomplishing anything particularly meaningful.

You can also spend an afternoon sitting outside, listening to music, walking the dog or talking with a friend and come away with something far more valuable.

Yet which of those days are we more likely to describe as productive?

There’s something a little absurd about measuring the quality of our lives by how thoroughly we’ve managed to fill them.

## Maybe There’s More to Life Than Keeping Busy

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