It’s Time to Eradicate the “Busy Virus”

I was guilty of it. I’m someone who believed that if I was not focused and working intensely, I just wasn’t being effective. It was a mistake. Life is about balance. I’ve learned through the years that being so “busy” was nothing more than being selfish. I was inconsiderate to my family and friends who wanted to see me, talk or spend time. It was all about work. Oftentimes, nothing else mattered.

That was my story. But, I’ve realized that this “busy virus” has spread. I have two colleagues who’ve been interviewing with nonprofits. I’ve heard the same from both of them. What happened to taking a moment and being polite to someone that’s been interviewed? What happened to letting someone know one way or another if they’re in consideration or if the job was given to someone else? One would think if there’s been an interview that at the very least there should be some form of communication rather than radio silence.

If you look around, the busy virus is everywhere. Job applicants are interviewed and never hear back from employers. Emails are sent and seem to disappear into the clouds of the Internet, never to be replied to unless there are several follow-ups. Phone calls are made and messages left with no return reply. And, my favorite, of which I was very guilty – appointments were set only to be “too busy” to ultimately meet.

I’ve always been someone that’s very responsive (professionally or personally). When I started out in life my mentors and family trained me to acknowledge people quickly. I’ve always kept that discipline. Yes, I may have failed along the way with a delayed call or email, but it wasn’t often. It was probably pretty rare. But, I was notorious for never taking the time to be with friends and family because I was always too busy working.

Some of it, I think, had to do with the fact that I was a single mom. I played the role of both parents. I had to be disciplined, and I had to have determination. My daughter was depending on me. But this morphed into something else, which became selfish and ego driven.

Somewhere along the line it became all about my work and my life. There wasn’t much room for anyone or anything else. I’ve learned that I was terribly inconsiderate of people who loved and cared for me. Professionally, I was always at the top of my response game. However, personally, there was always some work obligation more important.

I’m not the only one, as I’ve stated in this article. So many people are infected with the busy virus. I hear from friends and colleagues or see for myself how everyone is consumed in a tornado of minutia. Somehow, it’s become acceptable to ignore emails, telephone calls or serially break appointments until the busy virus subsides.

Here’s the deal though. The virus does not leave until you start to address it head on.

Why should people interviewed for jobs not receive some sort of response? Why should friends and family be so focused on work obligations that they don’t have 5 minutes to just connect with a loved one? I think everyone enjoys receiving unexpected calls, texts or emails from someone they care about reaching out “just because”.

The busy virus has led us to a society where being inconsiderate or impolite is, unfortunately, commonplace.

As a recovering busy virus patient, I’ve realized that for myself, it’s a terribly lame excuse to simply be careless. We can put off many things we don’t want to deal with as a society because we’re so collectively busy. But, there’s something to be said about politeness and courtesy.

What I’ve learned, the hard way is that when I had the busy virus, when I couldn’t take one minute to connect, I didn’t appear important. I just appeared to others as aloof and uncaring, even if that was never my intent.

As I recover from “busy”, it doesn’t impress me much anymore. There’s always a moment to be kind and responsive – even when the demands are plenty.

Most of the time (i.e. unless you’re dealing with a major illness, life challenge or funeral), there’s always a minute you can take to send a quick text, email or make a phone call. This can be done in a personal or professional environment, depending on where the busy virus afflicts you.

Life is short. I don’t often have regrets and I rarely look back, but I’ve learned how I lost precious personal time with people I care about in my life.

I’ll never get that time back.

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Posted: July 14, 2015

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