Busyness, Breaks and Building the Future

Some of our members are finding themselves with more time than usual on their hands: extra time not spent commuting as we’re working from home, and less in-person socialising as we isolate ourselves in our free time too, all to slow the global spread of the viral contagion. A positive perspective is that it’s forcing us to take downtime, to step away from the hustle and bustle, and reflect on whether perpetual busyness really is good for us and our businesses…

Some are investing their extra capacity in personal development, and building new skills. Examples include learning a new human language or programming language, reading business books* or tackling new online courses in meditation, cooking, statistics... Reinvesting in themselves is however not possible for everyone at this time, perhaps because of increased family care responsibilities or stretched finances. We also need to bear in mind that doing less may lead to achieving more - Tim Maurer argues that busyness leads to us being less productive, and says that “many are finding enjoyment in more productive work at a less busy pace”. 

This post is inspired by by a recent LinkedIn article by Frances Mensah Williams called The Joy and Pain of Busy-ness. Frances is immensely qualified with respect to busyness, as evidenced by her varied portfolio career, including her concurrent roles as:

• Author of fiction and non-fiction books*
• CEO of a London-based consultancy managing skills and human resources development projects across Africa
• Managing Editor of ReConnect Africa.com, an online careers and business publication for the African diaspora
• Executive Coach...

Frances is also a passionate advocate for skills and capacity building in Africa, and was awarded a CBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for services to the African community in the UK and in Africa.

I’ll admit that at times I relish the pressure of racing through the to-do list, ticking off task after task and writing up a new one for the next day. I know I’m not the only one who has experienced feeling so deep in the flow of what I’m doing, that I carry on for hours without taking a break...”
FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS

Frances warns against being busy at all times, as this can impact our work/life balance, our relationships and even our health. The first step, she argues, is admitting and owning the problem. However, she writes: “There is a big difference between knowing something intellectually and embracing it fully. I’m just as guilty as many people of thinking that a bit of hard work never hurt anyone. And yet, it does. Burnout isn’t a myth, and if we don’t control our hyper-busy selves, it doesn’t take long to lose the joy you once found from whatever it is you’re busy doing.”

She quotes Kelly Feehan of the UK’s Chartered Accountants Benevolent Association, the charity supporting the wellbeing of past and present chartered accountants and their families: “People have the tendency to believe that to achieve personal success and happiness they need to be busy at all times – often at the expense of their [physical and mental] health and relationships.”

While we at Protagion are mostly fans of keeping busy (as opposed to being lazy!), there is a limit to how much we can accomplish if we push ourselves too far. It’s about being in the sweetspot of motivated, engaged and productive, rather than dispassionately listless at one extreme, or crazily overextended at the other. Another key aspect for us is thinking about work not in terms of hours spent, but rather in terms of value delivered i.e. an outcome-focus. To build a diversified income stream (and a successful portfolio career) and see yourself as a business, it’s important to have at least some sources of earnings which aren’t linked to selling your time… Examples include rental income, investment income and royalty income.

In fact, if you do find yourself incredibly busy, we’d suggest pausing to question whether the effort of ‘getting your hustle on’ is contributing towards you building a sustainable income for the future. Is your work building ‘assets’ (such a business) that can generate ongoing revenue for you?

​Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer, as reported by Tim Maurer for Forbes, feels that we should take the time to enjoy the fruits of our labour too. Taking a “moment of closure to catch [our] breath and regroup” helps us to mark the occasion, “get perspective and reconnect with [our] purpose”. 

Working intelligently is not about being busy, it's about being productive.”
RYDER CARROLL, as told to Tim Maurer

And, if you need a tune to lift your spirits while hustling, remember the 1975 disco hit by Van McCoy and the Soul City Symphony.

Stay well, be productive and enjoy what drives you in your work”
FRANCES MENSAH WILLIAMS

* PROTAGION is a participant in the Amazon EU Associates Programme, an affiliate advertising programme designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.co.uk. The links with * participate in this programme. ​