Take off your Busy Badge — It doesn’t look good.

Stewart Stanbra
The Startup
Published in
3 min readJun 13, 2018
Credit Austin Fit Magazine

We all seem to be competing in this morbid and toxic game to show how busy we are, and to make sure that everyone knows it.

Everyone wants to project the image that they’re highly active and working hard. That their agenda is totally packed and they are pushing themselves to the limit.

They think that by constantly reminding everyone “how busy they are” that it reflects well on them.

The truth is that wearing the “busy badge” is, in most cases, backfiring. It creates a negative environment and an unwanted cycle that can drag other colleagues, friends or family with you into sense of rushing, tension and panic.

There are multiple types of busy people:

1) People not effectively managing their time
2) People not prioritizing the most important tasks
3) People wanting to show their bosses; “I am working harder than everyone”
4) People constantly reminding people they are busy, so to guilt others.
5) People constantly announcing they are busy for recognition.
6) People who use the busy badge to avoid doing difficult or more work.

Being busy actually doesn’t help you, it hinders you.

Here is what your supervisors/bosses actually see when you are rushing around like a stress monster all day:

  • You are overwhelmed
  • You are unable to prioritize or time-manage well
  • You appear unable to handle additional responsibility or tasks.
  • You are lacking the control and discipline to lead people

The badge holds you back, so throw it away….and take action that will benefit you and everyone around you.

We must do better

As organizations, leaders and members of teams we need to change our outlook…and stop competing in the busy Olympics.

We should all champion people who are producing great results, staying in control and that are balanced. Not just those trying to “show” how busy they are.

Much has been written on the subject of productivity and efficiency (even by me: LINK). There are always methods to fine tune and improve your output on the most important results, without working yourself into the ground.

But most important is the change in habits and attitude, to not feel that you need to constantly justify your work rate and work load.

Get organized both in your work tasks and your personal time. Set the structures, habits and systems in place to be effective, and let your results and composure do the talking.

Stewart Stanbra is a founder of CSUSA and the Pursue Group, he is helping driven people Pursue Ambition. Please follow for more stories on Entrepreneurship, Startups, Leadership and Self Care. Any claps are hugely appreciated!

Follow Pursue Group: www.facebook.com/pursuegroup/

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Stewart Stanbra
The Startup

(Oslo, Norway) — Entrepreneur, Investor, Founder & Director @ CSUSA & Pursue Group: www.csusa.co.uk / www.pursue.no