Procrastination and Busyness

I found this blog article the other day and thought it was interesting. Over the last few weeks, I've felt the need to disconnect more often electronically. Not that it has necessarily happened, but feeling that it should. To this end, I've culled down my Google Reader subscriptions a good bit, though there are still a lot (so many friends blog and I want to keep up!), and consciously tried not to check Facebook as often. I'll let you know if drastic measures need to happen, a friend went on a 30 day fast from Facebook for a while and for him it was very refreshing. For now, here is the article if you are interested, more comments afterwards:

I'd like to posit that for idea workers, misusing Twitter, Facebook and various forms of digital networking are the ultimate expression of procrastination. You can be busy, very busy, forever. The more you do, the longer the queue gets. The bigger your circle, the more connections are available.

Laziness in a white collar job has nothing to do with avoiding hard physical labor. “Who wants to help me move this box!” Instead, it has to do with avoiding difficult (and apparently risky) intellectual labor.

"Honey, how was your day?"

"Oh, I was busy, incredibly busy."

"I get that you were busy. But did you do anything important?"

Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn't mean mattered.

When the resistance pushes you to do the quick reaction, the instant message, the 'ping-are-you-still-there', perhaps it pays to push in precisely the opposite direction. Perhaps it's time for the blank sheet of paper, the cancellation of a long-time money loser, the difficult conversation, the creative breakthrough...

Or you could check your email.

Seth Godin's Blog

One of my favorite lines is: Busy does not equal important. Measured doesn't mean mattered.

How often, when I'm asked about my day do I say it is really busy? This happens all the time while at work and even when at home or with friends. Just because I was busy doesn't mean I was productive. I hope over the next few weeks to work on de-cluttering things so that I'm not just busy for busy's sake. I read the following on a friend's blog today and I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing it, but it encouraged me to be more intentional about it.

Life is busy.

Not that I've just come that conclusion....I think that I've just been fighting it. And maybe I'm not supposed to fight it anymore. Lately, I have been learning, reading, pondering, and praying about this. I do strongly believe that too much busy is a bad thing. I am as careful as possible to have time each day and week to just hang out, be here, and be still, but it is a challenge. A challenge though, that I have to win, for fear of turning into a wretch! :) Most importantly, I'm trying to shift my focus from, "How much can I accomplish today?" and "I need to get ALL of this done today" and to instead seek the Lord's will for each day.

Katie Heise

Thanks for letting me share your thoughts Katie! That is my hope and prayer as well and something that definitely needs work! What would each day look like if I truly sought to serve Him in my workplace and relationships, rather than letting myself get caught up in whatever is happening that day?