Busy, occupied or overload.
For as long as I can remember, both myself and my friends have taken part in a game. It’s a very social one, and it has in some sense determined our social status.
It usually starts with someone describing how busy they are. Then someone else tries to outdo them. And then another one. That’s the whole game.
I’ve started making distinctions in busyness for myself. I’ve realised that being busy means a whole lot of different things to different people. What I deem busy is when I’m on top of things, and that’s one of the best times for me. What some people mean by busy is that they’re on their knees and can’t take another task.
I distinguish busy from occupied and in overdrive. Busy is, as I said, my preferred state of being. It’s when I’ve got things to do. Occupied is when I can’t do anything else than the thing I’m currently doing. And in overdrive is when I’m having a hard time catching up with the tasks at hand.
The distinction is important to me, because it’s about communication to the people closest to me. They might need to know how I’m doing in order to support me.
There’s also the semantic effect of it. If you’re trying to convince people of how busy you are, you’ll set a glass ceiling for yourself. If busy is your top, it’s your top.
What modes do you have? Where do you want to be, and how can you make that happen?