Before You Say ‘I’m Too Busy’ Again, Listen to This Rant

The next time you utter, “I’m too busy,” realize what that really means.

It’s an excuse, and a weak one at that. It’s a cop-out.

You’re either trying to fool someone else – or maybe just yourself.

No Such Thing as ‘Too Busy’

We’re ALL busy. But the truth is, there’s no such thing as “too busy.”

If you’re telling someone else you’re “too busy” to be involved in their thing, all you’re saying to them is that you don’t see it as important enough to bother with. So why don’t you just say so?

The whole “I’m too busy” thing totally frustrates one of our VPs at HRMorning.

So one morning a few weeks back, he came in all fired up. He’s a huge fan of the Tim Ferriss podcasts and listens to them over and over on his drive to work.

“I heard the perfect rant by Debbie Millman on Ferriss’ podcast this morning. I couldn’t say it better myself,” the boss told me. “You have to hear it.”

He was right.

Millman is a well-known writer, designer, educator, artist, brand consultant and host of the Design Matters podcast. In other words, Debbie Millman is one busy person. You can follow her at @debbiemillman on Twitter. You can follow Ferriss at @tferriss.

Busy Is a Decision

What follows is an excerpt of Debbie Millman’s “I’m too busy” rant:

“Busy is a decision.

“I say this all the time ad nauseum. Here’s why:

“Of the many, many excuses people use to rationalize why they can’t do something. The excuse ‘I am too busy’ is not only the most inauthentic, it is also the laziest.

“I don’t believe in too busy. Busy is a decision.

“We do the things we want to do, period.

“If we say we’re too busy, I believe it is short hand for not important enough. It means you would rather be doing something else that you consider more important. That thing can be sleep, it could be sex, it could be watching ‘Game of Thrones.’ If we use busy as an excuse for not doing something, what we are really, really saying is that it’s not a priority. It’s not as important to us.

“So simply put, you don’t find the time to do something. You make the time to do things.

“I think we are now living in a society that sees ‘busy’ as a badge. It’s become cultural cachet to use the excuse ‘I am too busy’ as a reason for not doing anything we don’t feel like doing. The problem is this: if you let yourself off the hook for not doing something for any reason, you won’t ever do it.

“If you want to do something you can’t let being busy stand in the way even if you are busy.

“Make the time to do the things you want to do, and then follow through and do them.”

Want to listen to that episode of the podcast? Follow the links below:

“How to Prioritize Your Life and Make Time for What Matters,” The Tim Ferriss Show in Podcasts – starting at the 13:40 point in the podcast. You can listen to it on iTunes or on Art19.com