The False God of Busyness
I was a mediocre student. My deficits, however, were more in the areas of discipline and habit than intellectual aptitude. I spent college “blowing off” classes through the entire quarter and then cramming for the final so I could pass. I have vivid memories of sitting cross-legged in the Jones dorm of the Northwestern University School of Speech, downing pizza pockets and YooHoo from the nocturnal food truck and infusing my brain with three months of information in twelve hours. I’d stare at the text of “Highlights of Astronomy” and cram and cram and cram until the foie gras goose of my brain was at its perfect point – the absolute brink of explosion. Then I’d crawl carefully into bed, hoping not to disturb the precarious pile of knowledge, praying it would remain through the test.
Many of us are still cramming. And the test we are preparing for is the daily, yearly and lifelong review we offer ourselves in the form of a single question: “Did I do enough with my life?” We push extra activities, events, people and accomplishments into our own schedules until they become mazes of crisscrossing ink screaming “Look how maximized I am!!!!” The trouble is that “Did I do enough with my life?” is the wrong question in a world where, outside of the record books, no prizes are awarded for quantity.
What we are missing from those glutted pages is White Space™.
White Space is time, energy or thought saved and kept open for the spontaneous flow of each day. Uncommitted, open, flexible, fluid time, energy and thought. It is not so much a tool as an element like nitrogen and oxygen. It is everywhere but many of us have not discovered it or its importance. It is pivotal for our health, wellness, income, innovation, creativity and performance. We can re-claim it in the meeting room, in the car, in the office and with our families, but if we do not protect it from compulsive busyness, it will be devoured.
The professional who takes more White Space will be more calm, confident, patient and present. Their neo-cortex (the executive center of the brain) will be more active in coming up with more game-changing ideas. Their professional and personal relationships will be stronger and they will be on a path to prevent burnout – even in a field as stressful as yours. And yet even with all of those benefits, folks feel guilty when they create White Space. It’s against their belief system.
This belief system is built upon the false assumption that performing well should look intense and busy. But science does not support this impression. Dan Burrus in his wonderful book Flash Forward asks readers “Do you think the executive team of GM was very busy in the three years leading up to the bankruptcy?” The answer is “yes” but, Burrus remind us, “It didn’t help them and it won’t help you.”
Busyness is a false God.
I meet busy folks every day who proclaim they’re actually not too busy. Some are not. To others I wish I could say, “Let’s ask your adrenal glands.” A key factor of Emotional Intelligence is called ESA or Emotional Self Awareness and, ironically, the score in this area of competency can be reduced when one is stressed, over-busy or tired. Translation: When you are overwhelmed, it is hard to know you are overwhelmed.
We must learn to pause for sanity, for clarity and to keep our performance levels optimal. Eric Wilbrecht, the Olympic biathlete, said, “Recovery is the crux of everything in training, but it is the thing that is most easily, and frequently, missed. There isn't a successful athlete in the world who doesn't understand the critical importance of recovery.”
And so it is with work. An interesting study appeared in the journal Cognition where four groups of subjects were given a single task to work on for 50 minutes. Three groups worked straight through and each displayed a notable decline in performance throughout the experiment. One group was given two very short breaks — a little White Space — and they alone were able to maintain a steady level of focus for the allotted time.
Take the following White Space prescription for improved creativity and performance: Begin with “found” White Space. Notice when the world makes you wait,and then relish that time instead of fighting it. At level two we begin to be proactive. Set a timer for two minutes of White Space three times a day and then work up to four- or five-minute periods. Don’t be afraid to daydream. It was a very productive habit for Disney, Einstein, Richard Branson, DaVinci and Beethoven. Try a little White Space to refresh your mind right before a meeting with an important client. And, by all means, keep track of the ideas that pop up during White Space. They will help you defend this practice to yourself when busyness comes a-calling.
I have a guilty secret. I am not sorry I blew off “Highlights of Astronomy. Despite its unpleasantness, cramming served its purpose in the old days — allowing me more time with friends and true passions and less time studying. But now it is those very friends and passions that busyness displaces. They need us back. We need them back. So grab a YooHoo, lean back in your chair and have a little White Space — on me.
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