Coffee ready?

Well it's definitely been a week. Busy is the default these days. Even the days or times when nothing is happening feel busy too. I suppose the baseline is just moved to a higher place. Wife's birthday is coming up, though, so begins the arduous process of buying her a birthday gift. I think I got it covered, though!

Here's a word I want to put on trial this week: "busy."

Somebody asks how you're doing, or why you haven't called them back, or why the thing you said you'd start still hasn't started — and "busy" comes out before you've even thought about it. It's the answer that ends the question. Nobody pushes back on "busy." It sounds responsible. Productive, even.

But sometimes "busy" is just true — the calendar really is that full, and there's nothing underneath it to find. Fair enough.

Other times, though, "busy" is doing a job it wasn't hired for. It's standing in for "I don't want to," or "I'm scared to," or "I don't actually know how," or "I'd rather not admit this isn't a priority for me." Those are harder sentences to say out loud, so "busy" steps in and takes the hit instead. It's a placeholder with better PR than "fine."

So the check-in: next time "busy" comes out of your mouth this week, catch it before it finishes the sentence. Ask what it's covering for. Sometimes the honest answer is "the calendar's just full, and that's fine." Sometimes it's something you've been putting off saying — even to yourself.

Either way, you'll know which one it is instead of letting "busy" answer for you.

Keep the coffee hot.

Mike

P.S. — If naming what's actually going on feels bigger than five minutes, I built something for that: the Quick Site Survey, ten honest questions, about ten minutes, free. mike-kerklin.kit.com/18b09b1aa5