Has it been crazy busy where you are, too?
Oh boy has it been crazy here on Avenue Z. I’m finishing up a new site (www.askbethz.com), getting ready to release the book (should be out in late May, but you can preorder here 
), settling into married life, coaching a running team… Today I’m flying to Houston for my first speaking gig with a book signing, and I had to call the airlines to make sure I’d have wifi so I can get a project finished on the way there.
Crazy busy, I tell you!
But as I sift through my emails from the past couple of months, it looks like “crazy busy” is a new normal in our business world:
- “Sorry it took me so long to respond… things are crazy busy!”
- “I wanted to get to this last week, but it’s been nuts!”
- “Thanks for your patience… It’s just nonstop around here these days!”
And on and on. When I was growing up, I don’t remember my parents coming home and saying, “Wow, kids. Sorry we haven’t been home for dinner much — it’s crazy busy at work.” Both parents came home at fairly normal times, ate dinner with us most nights and retired to the TV room with us to watch awesome ’80s tv (Taxi, Love Boat, One Day at a Time, anyone?).
Are these “crazy busy” times a new phenomenon? Have we created work environments with deadlines at such an impossible pace that we’re all going insane? And has technology — the tools that are supposed to make our lives easier — played a role in causing this chaos?
I would answer in the affirmative for all three of those questions. I think the easier we have made it to access work, information, entertainment and connections, the tougher we have made our workloads. As much as I love technology and the excitement of this world we live in, I’d love it if we stopped answering the “How are you?” question with “Crazy busy!”
So, how do you answer “How are you?” Is your life calm, cool and collected these days, or are you crazy busy, too?
Gotta run… My Roomba robot vacuum just got stuck under the couch, my iPhone needs charging and I have to pack my Garmin Forerunner so I can go for a run in Houston.
Pop on 28 Apr 2011 at 9:03 am #
May I remind you that it was nearly impossible to get you to the dinner table in the 80′s because you were just too busy?
Through a superhuman effort, I got you there often enough that you have those memories and I am smiling that remember those dinners fondly.
Pop
Beth on 28 Apr 2011 at 9:12 am #
Pop, may I remind you what you tried to serve us for dinner many of those nights? “Chicken Surprise” and that “white sauce” you crafted from flour and water (which make glue!). And do you recall the turnip years?
I mostly treasure the memories of your Sunday morning omelettes made with all the leftovers from the week’s food. I was telling Deej about them just the other day.
I remember those times fondly as well.
Jenny on 28 Apr 2011 at 9:17 am #
Yes, I agree with this, I’ve been telling everyone I’m crazy busy, and I’ve chosen this life so I need to stop it.
I recently read an interesting post on the happiness project and it reminded me of myself:
http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2011/04/two-important-lessons-from-my-much-procrastinated-trip-to-the-dentist.html
Too busy to go to the dentist or putting it off? I have been putting off crunching the numbers for way too long for my business plan because I’m ‘too busy’ and I think its really because I’m terrified of not being able to make a go of things. I did make the first steps at the weekend and I’m getting there now!
Paul Anderson CPA on 28 Apr 2011 at 7:11 pm #
mmm…Chicken surprise…
Global Patriot on 29 Apr 2011 at 1:24 pm #
You’re so right, the easier it is to be “crazy busy” the more inclined we are to lose control of our life and let outside pressures dictate our schedule.
Bonnie Koenig on 10 May 2011 at 8:12 am #
I agree that Western (and especially American) society is more and more trying to make us “crazy busy” but I do think we can still maintain some control over our own schedules…My family has it’s own ‘modern day’ memories and stories of family dinners and ‘lima bean surprise’ which we thought the kids didn’t like due to the lima beans – it turned out to be the feta cheese:-) Thanks as always, Beth, for being a great chronicler of ‘modern life in the fast lane’!