A Busy Lady Asks: What is busy, anyway?
Hey Readers!
SO much has been happening the last few weeks as I prep for the release of my first novel, All These Threads of Time, coming July 15th. As most of you know, I am not just a writer—but wear many hats as a mom, corporate lawyer, realtor, and so on . . . which got me thinking—I call my Substack “A Busy Lady” but what does “busy” mean, really? Is busy even healthy?
I had these thoughts recently after a handful of conversations I had with colleagues and friends. I asked a doctor friend, “How are you doing?” “Busy,” he said. I asked a fellow attorney, who responded the same. I know all of my writer friends are busy too—getting books ready to publish is not for the faint at heart. My kids are busy—with school activities, graduations, etc. It seemed everyone was busy.
We toss the word around and we’re not lying. We ARE all busy. As corporate counsel, I have the pleasure of working with colleagues all over the world and something I’ve learned from this experience is that busy is defined differently, depending on your culture and where you are from. In America, it seems, we wear busy as if it’s a badge of honor. As if “busy” means “successful”—but that isn’t necessarily true. Busy can also mean burnt out, unfocused, or workaholic—all things that are taxing to mental health and relationships.
When I started A Busy Lady—my goal was to connect with readers. All the experts told me I had to have a “brand” and frowned upon my insistence I wasn’t just one brand. I’m many things—and I didn’t want to narrow my window or readers. I love reading and writing. I am a contracts nerd. I love learning about new ideas in law, especially in the fields of technology and privacy law. I’m a former teacher as a career (but consider myself a forever teacher). I hold a psychology degree, so I love reading anything in the mental health categories. I’m also a speculative fiction writer—specifically—which means I am all about learning most everything I can about everything; reading books on physics, time travel, and other science topics for fun. I’m a huge history, nature and animal lover. I have a strong faith. Most of all, I love empowering others. I figured that out writing this Substack. All the things I do, whether teaching, writing, lawyering, or finding someone’s dream home as a realtor, are about empowering others.
Every time someone talked to me, they would say, “Oh, you’re such a busy lady.” To be honest, it sometimes felt like a sarcastic remark, like, “Oh, how dare you do or be more than one thing.” Maybe that’s not what others meant, but that’s how it felt. And so, A Busy Lady was born—my mission to empower others to know they CAN be and do more—the world is open to you for whatever your dreams are. You can have more than one dream. You can change your dreams. You can make your dreams come true!
A Busy Lady is NOT, however, about glorifying being busy. Rest and reflection are needed to fill our cups.
Busy means something different to different people. A CEO up at 3 am that doesn’t get home till ten is busy (and probably missing their family). A stay-at-home mom with a toddler on the loose is certainly busy. Whether you are a college student with lots of homework, a doctor with many patients, a business owner, unemployed looking for a job, a retiree . . . we are all busy. And income level doesn’t matter either. If you are homeless, you are busy trying to survive—in fact, poverty takes up a lot of time because you have to spend countless hours seeking help for basic living needs. If you are wealthy, you are also busy—it takes a big team to manage accounts and businesses.
So, what does all of this mean in this rambling post on what it means to be busy?
It means—don’t be so busy you forget to rest. Don’t be so busy you don’t take time to fill your cup. Don’t be so busy you ignore the people or things that matter most to you. Don’t be so busy you miss the sunrise or sunset. Don’t be so busy you forget what it means to live.
And the next time someone asks you how you are, instead of saying, “busy”—how about trying something new? Maybe—“I’m enjoying life” or “I’ve been busy, but I’m also taking time to rest” ( or self-reflection, exploration, etc.).
Or, maybe we could answer by not listing off things we are doing, but moments we’ve loved that inspired us?
What do you think? What does busy mean to you?
I’ve decided busy means to me—“I’m taking care of my life.” That is, yes, I’m busy with lots of tasks and responsibilities, but I’m also filling my cup, resting, reflecting, and not missing that sunset.
Till Next Time,
Sarah
AKA A “Busy” Lady
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ALL THESE THREADS OF TIME - a time travel murder mystery by Sarah Crowne is releasing July 15th! Check it out at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Smashwords, Kobo - and many more purchase options coming soon! In fact, it’s recently come to my attention its available online at the following indie bookstores: An Unlikely Story, Powell's City of Books and the Skylark Bookshop!
Happily, I was not too busy to read this article! ;)
Wonderful column !