Feeling Compelled To Be Busy

Last week I wrote a blog post where I talked about the apparent conflict between “being busy” and “dominating.” Based on the response, it seems to have hit a chord. So a quick question for you.

Are you busy? Or better yet, do you feel compelled to be busy?

I’m going to challenge you to do something right now. Close your computer. Power off your phone. Leave your phone next to your computer and go find a couch or a soft chair. Now sit there for 10 minutes.

Then go here and tell me what happened.

Did you get antsy before 10 minutes was up? Did you start to feel guilty that you were just sitting there? Did you impulsively reach for your phone and then realize you didn’t have it? What did you think about? Was it everything you should have been doing? Or the list of things that you were behind on?

If you answered yes to any of those questions, you’re busy. And the more I learn, the more I’m realizing that busy is NOT a badge of honor.

So, anyway, I have one of those brains that won’t let big ideas go that easily. I thought for sure that if I wrote out my thoughts, I’d be able to move on.

My brain had other plans… 😉

So for the last week or so, as I’ve been reading comments, responding to emails, and hanging with customers here at SixthDivision, my brain has been wanting to dive into this a little deeper. A new question has crept up and it’s been bothering me:

WHERE DOES BUSY COME FROM?

AND WHY DO WE FEEL LIKE WE NEED IT?

Think about that for a second. I’m going to assume you had a hard time sitting for 10 minutes and not twitching. The bigger question for me is WHY? With the exception of extreme situations, 10 minutes is NOT going to dictate our life or our success.

So why can’t we stop and take 10 minutes to just think?

I think that part of the answer can be found in this quote from Robert Heinlen:

“In the absence of clearly-defined goals, we become strangely loyal to performing daily trivia until ultimately we become enslaved by it.”

Read that a couple of times.

Then consider this tweet I saw the other day.

“The Truth Shall Set You Free, But First It Will Piss You Off.”

I despise the idea of being “enslaved” by anyone or anything, especially “daily trivia.” It’s why I love entrepreneurship. I believe that entrepreneurs is the antithesis of that very idea, and I believe it’s our job as entrepreneurs to change the world.

And to be totally honest, it doesn’t sound that much better to me to just be “strangely loyal” to daily trivia.

I’d like to start an all out brawl against “Busy” and “Daily Trivia.” And this is where I need your help. I’d like to get a better handle on understanding the enemy before we go into assault mode.

I’d like to know what your “daily trivia” is.

You can email me directly, or drop a comment on my blog post from last week. Once I get all the responses, I’ll share the results so we can see what we’re up against.

Then next week, we’ll dive in and explore a battle plan.

Head here to drop a comment and I’ll be in touch soon.

Thanks!

Brad

P.S. If you haven’t done so already, make sure you click here to check out last week’s blog post, and share your thoughts on how you feel compelled to be busy.