5 Reasons why you like to be busy and ways to tackle it
Have you been thinking a lot about why do you like to be busy? Are you addicted to being busy? There are times when you are complaining about being busy but then when you are not busy you get restless and start planning to get busy again. Well, I was kind of the same and I’m here to answer all your questions surrounding why you like to be busy? And ways to tackle it
In this post, I’m going to explain:
- Reasons why you like to be busy
- Signs to identify, if you are addicted to being busy
- Is it good to like being busy?
- Ways to tackle your urge to be busy
Let’s do this!
Are you addicted to being busy?
Getting the most done and being productive is really an asset and sure way to be successful but most of the time there is confusion about being “productive” and “busy”. Over the period of time being busy has become a worth defining measure and is a badge of honor wherein, in reality, it is reprehensible to be busy all the time.
Although we always find ourselves complaining to have no time and being busy but the fact is many of us like to be busy and are addicted to being busy.
Being busy constantly has many unhealthy effects on your health, emotion, and relationship, and if you are just all about being successful. Being busy is even a hurdle in your path to success.
By being busy always:
- You miss your success vision
- You don’t work effectively
- It gives you an illusion of success
- You don’t invest in yourself
- You might miss an opportunity
You can check this article 5 Reasons Why You Are Busy But Not Successful for more details.
So if you are wondering why you like being busy or are you addicted to be busy, we get to it now.
Why do you like to be busy?
Being busy all the time is no good to anybody but most do not realize that they like to be busy always or are addicted to being busy. The reasons for being busy are variable to person and psychological, but most of the time the people who wish to achieve more in life and have fear of not being productive are found to be addicted to being busy. More details on the reason are given below.
5 reasons why you like being busy
1) Being busy is your coping mechanism
A coping mechanism is a way or strategy that you find to deal with any difficult situation.
Many people find it best to add things to their To-Do list to take their mind off the difficult emotions of feeling they need to deal with. They find ways to immerse themselves in more and more work and cope with the difficult times they are having. As per psychologist J. Bloch, when our mind is occupied by work, the thought about the difficult situations in life does not bother us. So being busy seems like a good option to some.
2) You have Fear of Missing out (FOMO)
FOMO is a feeling or perception of a person that they are missing out on things, in this case, it is a feeling of missing out on opportunities and achievements. People with FOMO may think that others are out there making great progress and taking off things that could be their achievement and out of this fear they keep themselves busy doing things so that they do not miss on any achievement.
3) You are Ambitious
Being ambitious is considered a good virtue but quite a time being ambitious pushes a person to the edge to do the best. Ambitious people try to achieve more, be perfectionists, productive and thus keep themselves to busy. With so much to achieve around, there is no time to waste and hence like to be busy.
4) Being busy feels worth
Being busy in the current times is a status symbol. Some people consider it as a badge of honor and like to be called busy. It gives them a feeling of importance and worthiness in the eye of society to be called as busy. Inability to attend an event and replying to “How are you?” with “Life is busy” give a sense of satisfaction and worthiness to such people.
Moreover, the current work culture wherein a person staying up late and always busy is considered as hardworking rather than a person performing their work productively. This makes people around believe that being busy will define their worth.
5) Pressure to be productive
For some people, the idea of wasting time on something unproductive is not acceptable. They feel the urge to get the max done with all the time available and often ignore breaks and overschedule themselves resulting in burnout. They feel pressure to do more and any leisure time available with them reminds them of the number of things that can be done in the available time.
Why being busy is not good?
Being busy gives you an illusion of moving forward and making success whereas it may, in reality, keep you off the important things that will actually give you success.
It affects your balance of work and life-giving you dissatisfaction at every front of your life.
Being busy gets overwhelming, resulting in stress and affecting your emotional health
Being busy can result in insomnia, fatigue, and many other health issues.
When you are constantly busy, you are less available to your loved ones this can create tensions in your relationships.
Signs that you like being busy and are addicted to being busy
We all know by now that being busy is no good but at times we do not realize we are heading to the path of being busy and addicted to being busy.
So, if you are wondering are you one of those who like to be busy or are addicted to being busy here are the signs to identify
1) You keep overscheduling
If you have a tendency to fill your day with too many tasks even though they can be scheduled for a later day. If your typical day is filled with tasks back to back each without any blank space of time, you are definitely overscheduling and love to be over-occupied and busy.
2) You feel guilty about taking breaks
Whenever you find some time over the weekend or holidays you feel guilty about not doing work. I would at times feel guilty of falling sick and losing time I could have used to do something better. If you too feel the same you are addicted to being busy.
3) You find it difficult to relax
When it’s time to relax you find yourself anxious and thinking about many things that you can be doing, you are definitely addicted to being buys. People who like being busy do not think of relaxation time as a way to recharge themselves and enjoy the moment but rather as leisure that is not a necessity.
4) You are stressed all the time
If you are one who likes to be busy you always find your mind full of work, even of things that are not critical to worry about. You have the anxiety to do things that keeps you stressed all the time even though there is no need for it.
5) You are restless when you don’t have anything to do.
If you find yourself uneasy, bored, restless on weekends, vacations, and other breaks you are addicted to being busy. You just like to get more and more things done and find it difficult to deal with the free time available with nothing to do.
How to overcome being busy addiction
1 Accept you are addicted to being busy
The first step to overcoming the addiction to being busy is to accept the fact that you like to be busy. Acceptance of the fact will help you in realization every time you try to overburden yourself. Self-analysis of your mindset and realization is the tool that will help you find the triggers that get you in the mode to make yourself busy.
2 Schedule “Me-time”
Spending some time as small as 15 min each day with yourself can be very helpful. When you spend some quiet time with yourself, it will help you get out of the hustling mode and bring a sense of calmness. Also, it gives you some time to reflect better on your day and how you feel about things. It will also help you think better about your priorities and avoid being busy.
3 Identify burnout sign
This particular is useful for people who are addicted to being busy because they are ambitious or have FOMO, as for them working hard and being addicted to busy is a blurred line.
Identifying burnout signs will help find when it is not a good time to stretch oneself anymore. Burnout signs are different for every individual most commonly it can be feeling exhausted, headaches, insomnia. Find your burnout sign and look out for it consciously.
4 Set healthy boundaries
Define a clear work time and aim not to extend beyond it. Also building simple habits like not bringing work to home, not looking at work emails after working hours, and not spending weekends at work will help in setting healthy boundaries. Separating work time and personal time and letting people know that you have some boundaries to be respected will help you overcome being busy addiction.
5 Learn to say NO
Often time some get caught up being busy as they do not like to put down other’s expectations. They are always feeling the pressure to do all and please others, they find it difficult to say “NO” to anyone. It is never wrong to put yourself on priority. You should let others know you are occupied and do not have extra time to attend the thing they request.
Frequently Asked Questions
Conclusion
Being busy all the time is no good to anybody but most do not realize that they like to be busy always or are addicted to being busy. Knowing the reason for their addiction to being busy helps to overcome this issue. Realizing and accepting that you like to be busy can help you get out of it. Knowing the triggers that make you addicted to being busy and identifying the signs when you overschedule yourself can help overcome. The key is to schedule some breaks for self-time to reflect better the way you are living and spending your time.
Now that you know the reasons you like to be busy and how to overcome them, get started to find are you addicted to being busy? If yes, start to work to overcome it.
Don’t forget to live the life you work for and don’t fall into the trap of being busy.
Let me know in the comment why you like to keep yourself busy.
Also, If you are looking for ways to manage your buys life check out some amazing help below, I am sure it will be of great help to you.
5 step system to help you relax and unwind after a busy day
