‘Your beliefs become your thoughts.

Your thoughts become your words,

Your words become your actions’

Your actions become your habits’

Your habits become your values,

Your values become your destiny.’ Mahatma Gandhi

“There is no time for the niceties of 'inspiring' people here; we are far too busy”.

These were the words of Jane, a senior manager, as she worked through her annual 360-degree feedback report with her coach.

Jane, like other leaders in her organisation, had not only become a victim of ‘busyness’ but was also wrapped up in it as well as also practicing it, for it was an organisational feature – a habit of personal and organisational dysfunction.

‘Busyness’ is a relatively new word in the lexicon of ‘business-speak’ having entered it during the last decade. A quick search of the internet gives the following definitions: ‘the state of being or appearing to be actively engaged in an activity’; ‘the quality or condition of being busy’; ‘lively but meaningless activity’; and ‘foolishly or intrusively active’.

These all fittingly describe the ‘busyness’ concept that has come about through the colliding trinity of modern life: smart phones, social media, and consumerism. ‘Busyness’ is a seductive trap but a difficult one to get out of, for it meets a simple modern societal need:

Busy = Important

Far too many of us are caught up in ‘busyness bubbles’. Unfortunately, the odd thing is that not only do many people not recognise this but many boast actually about it to friends – they are proud of it and many wear their ‘busyness bubble’ as a ‘badge of honour’.

The implicit notion of ‘busyness’ is that if you are not in back-to-back meetings all day; have a diary that cannot fit-in an appointment for days (even better if it is weeks!); and a smart phone that does not stop ‘going off’ then you are ‘not important enough’. ‘Busyness’ is about being in demand, needed, and wanted, for unless we are seen to be this person – the one who is working all hours for the organisation and going ‘beyond and above the call of duty’ – we don’t belong.

‘Busyness’ fits the human ‘hard wired’ need ‘to belong’ that is underpinned by the ‘loss aversion’ fear of ‘missing out’ that resides inside us all. Not being ‘included’ can ‘burn inside us’ even when our ‘being included’ could be a total waste of our time.

Once we are enticed into the illusion of ‘busyness’ where we can be seen as important; heroic; seemingly able to make choices of whom we see and when; and to be included in the ‘very important’ meetings, we will have ‘arrived’ and ‘made it’. What is there not to love about that?

As soon as we are in the seductive clutches of ‘busyness’ we have fallen into a trap where we are essentially meeting not just the needs and whims of our skewed beliefs but more importantly those of others; we have got our priorities wrong and have prioritised on what is in front of us rather than what is most important. Significantly, we have been enticed to embrace a set of beliefs that will at some stage leave us finding ourselves stressed; unfocused; short-tempered; and distracted. Unwittingly we will have now become inefficient and ineffective in our role and where we are not succeeding, let alone learning and developing.

Ultimately, like all bubbles a ‘busyness bubble’ bursts which costs both the organisation and the individual, many of whom end up seeking medical help.

Doctors increasingly report of the growing number of patients attending their surgeries complaining of the conditions such as: fatigue; irritability; insomnia; anxiety; headaches; heartburn; bowel disturbances; back pain; and depressive feelings. Unfortunately, doctors are in the main unable to help for many of these are not an illness but the manifestation of ‘busyness’ - the ill effects of habit.

A habit is a routine behaviour that we repeat regularly that occurs unconsciously whether it is a good or a bad one. The problem is that individuals and habits are all different with the challenge being that there is no simple or single formula for changing a habit[1]. Each habit requires a different approach to changing it, for each habit is rooted in one or more of the beliefs we have towards or about something.

Our beliefs in adulthood are a combination of influences from our past and those of the present. Socialisation is life-long process with modern research concluding that up to two-thirds of working people adopt the beliefs and behaviours of their organisational and professional cultures.

Changing beliefs, which is the key to habit change, whilst we are under the influence of where we spend five days out of seven (or more in many instances) and where the working hours extend into our personal time is problematic particularly given that research shows that habit change can take 66 days to fully effect[2].

Increasingly organisations are becoming aware of the effects of ‘busyness’ recognising its cost to themselves and their people. Some are changing and adopting better working practices and wellbeing approaches but unfortunately many are only paying lip-service to ‘busyness’ with their response being, for instance, a half day of ‘resilience training’. This is nothing more than a ‘sheep dip’ approach that has little to no affect and more pointedly is far wide of addressing the pernicious underlying problem of ‘busyness’.

Leaders need to heed the words of Gandhi.

[1] Duligg, C. (2012) ‘The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business’, Random House, London.

[2] Gardner, B., Lally, P., & Wardle, J. (2012) ‘Making health habitual: The psychology of ‘habit formation’ and general practice’, British Journal of General Practice, 62, pp 664-666