More cavemen

Lately, we've been leaning heavily on our caveman ancestors for deliberation. Following on from what was published on 21st November, where we emphasised how difficult it is to innovate due to our fears of change, on this occasion we will refer to “being busy” as a sublime excuse.

This photo shows two workers overwhelmed by the great possibility of a major breakthrough. Why? Because it seems they are very busy, swamped with work. And indeed, when we use this word, we are trying to say something more: I am valuable, I am indispensable, as if imposing self-esteem measures on ourselves by valuing quantity over quality. However, quantity may not be synonymous with productivity. Then we quickly let this term slip away to excuse ourselves, a way of outsourcing our responsibility to our irresponsibility. "I'm busier than you" means "I'm more important, my time is worth more, I'm winning.".

The truth is that being very busy can be a deceptive mistake. We might think that a significant number of projects equates to quality, yet it can prevent us from having interactions, fulfilling obligations, and undertaking other commitments due to apathy. How can we avoid this? We need to set daily goals, commit to certain boundaries, work smarter, perhaps in a simpler way, and also try to communicate our availability and priorities differently, avoiding the overuse of this blasted word.