Busy, Busy, Busy

Over coffee at our regular haunt, I was talking with a good friend yesterday. In the course of our conversation he mentioned his frustration with having to wait on certain individuals – “important individuals” – who had to make some decisions before he could proceed with several important projects. Until these folks paid attention to his concerns, my friend was blocked. Unfortunately, these other people did not seem to believe that his project was as important as their agendas. I think all of us can identify with my friend.

This got me to thinking about priorities. Doubtless the “movers and shakers” who were holding my friend’s desires captive believed that they had many, many important commitments. His concern was just one more thing on their list. But, when something so important to someone is buried in schedules and commitments, maybe the schedules are too crowded and the commitments are too numerous?

We often confuse busyness with productivity. The more we are doing, the more we believe we are getting done. But this is not the case. We live in a culture that desperately runs from appointment to appointment, commitment to commitment and place to place without any clear direction as to where it is going. We are busy, busy, busy and lost, lost, lost.

Perhaps we are trying to do too much. If someone would look at my schedule, would they be able to clearly see the priorities that I believe are important or would they see a clutter of activity? Would they be able to clearly discern the people who matter most to me or be able to see the causes for which I care? Or would they see a life that is busy with stuff and has no real substance? To do a few things and do them well is better than doing a lot of things poorly.