Why Are We So Booked and Busy?

My niece and I usually talk every couple of days.  This year we have been together a lot because of the many activities she has as it is her senior year of high school.  Usually once we are reviewing our schedules and trying to coordinate pickups, drop-offs, and meetings for the two of us, it leads to a usual conversation.  She says, “I am booked and busy”.  One day when she said this familiar phrase, I wondered, is this something we have passed down to the next generation?

Published in a survey by StudyFinds, the average person has 4 hours 26 minutes of free time per week.  The average person has 14-20 items left undone on their to-do lists. 

I began to think about how growing up, I, along with my siblings, were involved in multiple clubs and organizations while in school.  Between family, school and church commitments, there was very little downtime for us.  Even during the summer, it was not a time for the “lazy days of summer” because there were schedules still to adhere to and activities to participate in.  We were booked and busy.

With the invention of technologies to help us do more and faster, we see an increase in the “booked and busy” culture.  According to a 2018 Pew Research study, 60% of US adults said they at least felt too busy to enjoy life.  12% of those polled said they feel like this most of time.  Published in a survey by StudyFinds, the average person has 4 hours 26 minutes of free time per week.  The average person has 14-20 items left undone on their to-do lists.  Many of us can identify with the unending lists of things to do from home to work and other obligations.

It often seems like there is very little time to rest and do things we enjoy.  After reading such statistics, it makes one ask, what are we as Americans so busy doing?  Why are we so busy? There is a myriad of things which vie for our attention and keep us busy.

Work

One of the biggest areas taking up much of our time is the area of work/career.  According to an H & R Block survey, 60% of respondents said working takes up most of their time.  Many of us can attest to what seems like the numerous hours we spend at work or working. When Covid was at its peak and many people began to work remotely, there was an increase in the number of hours worked.  According to SHRM, nearly 70% of professionals who began working remotely due to the pandemic cited working on weekends.  45% noted they regularly worked more hours during the week than they did pre-pandemic.

Technology

Another area of life that takes up a lot of our time is the use of technology.  Americans spend approximately 2 hours and 25 minutes daily on their smartphones.  On average, cellphone users interact with their phones over 2000 times per day.  Americans spend a good amount of time using technology to check emails, send texts, keep up with the ever-breaking news and scrolling through social media.  Technology can be seen as one of the greatest inventions to help keep us connected. It can also be seen as one of the biggest threats to our time. We stay extremely plugged in and accessible.

Traffic

Lastly, traffic is another area which keeps our time tied up daily.  According to a Forbes magazine article, last year Americans spent 51 hours in traffic. 15 hours more than 2021 but 50% lower than pre-pandemic (99 hours in 2019).  According to Zippia Research, the average person commutes 27.6 minutes one way.  The average commute is 41 miles per day.

How Do We Change Course?

One of the benefits of the pandemic was it led many to re-evaluate the state of their lives.  For years, we have lived fast paced lives and were, to a degree, addicted to the busy life.  It became almost like a badge of honor to be able to say one was “booked and busy”.  However, amid lockdown and the world almost grinding to a halt, it allowed many of us to experience something we had not experienced before. We were able to experience a slower pace of life.  Yes, we may have worked from home, but we realized how there was more to life than traffic, work and being connected to technology.  So much so, in the heart the pandemic, many became disenchanted or fatigued with the overuse of technology.

Now as the world has re-opened and we are seeing the uptick in the busyness of life, we must take a step back to see how we can make a new way of living.  There are a few ways we can achieve this:

1. Re-evaluate our schedules: When we look at our weekly schedules, are we loading them with meetings and activities because it is a way of life for us?  We should take the time to see what we are saying yes to and is it a priority or necessity of our lives.  If not, we must be courageous enough to say no and remove it from our schedules.
2. Change our mindset: The “booked and busy” lifestyle was a mindset that we have passed down from generation to generation.  It started with ideologies or old wives’ tales shared with us such as “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop”.  We adopted ways of busyness that have become harmful to our well-being.  We must change our mindset around busyness and seek to be intentional and productive.
3. Identify and live out our values: We will stay in the rat race of busyness when we are trying to keep up or compete with society.  Whether it is trying to climb the corporate ladder or receive some type of accolade, it will keep us in a state of busyness as we try to be involved in too many activities or projects.  However, we must identify what is most important to us and begin to build schedules that reflect those values and commitments.

The world of work is starting to make the shift away from busyness.  We are seeing more discussions around ideas such as the 4 Day Work Week.  More initiatives are being put forward towards work/life balance.  As the work world is starting to see the value in decreasing the busyness for the sake of productivity and personnel satisfaction, we must begin to make the same shift in our thinking and our actions as individuals.

Do you feel “booked and busy”?  If so, what are some changes you can and are willing to make to help transition from “booked and busy” to intentional and productive.  I would love to hear about it.