In fact, we may often confuse being busy with being productive, when in fact it is often the exact opposite.

Author, Tim Ferriss, is quoted as saying, “being busy is actually a form of laziness – lazy thinking and action. Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important, but uncomfortable actions”.  

These frantic outbursts of busyness can manifest themselves when we feel fearful, insecure, inadequate, overwhelmed, discouraged, disinterested, disengaged, and/or incompetent about the tasks before us. 

For example, if we simply get busy with a flurry of activity, we can excuse and inadvertently avoid the things we dislike doing the most, like the hard tasks, and potentially even provide ourselves with a guise of protection and excuse for our failings to perform, succeed, and grow in our current responsibilities. 

This of course also helps euthanize any guilt we may feel, as well as protect our egos for potentially failing at our more primary duties. 

Granted, we can all be prone to this, but the ability to see it, admit it, and then avoid it like the plague is key to eradicating it from our lives.

Being effective and healthy in our primary areas of stewardship is something many may wish to aspire to, but how many truly commit to?

Let us be among those who stop making excuses, admit to where we may need help, be transparent with our challenges, and commit to the work and discipline required to improve in all we do. 

This will surely help us stop stepping over the more valuable “dollars” to chase the less meaningful “pennies”.