Enough with Busy! - Social Media Explorer
Enough with Busy!
Enough with Busy!
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Busy, busy, busy. Aren’t we all so charming with how very busy we are? It feels like we are all competing over who’s the busiest. Don’t believe me, just look at your social feeds. Everyone is really, really busy (of course not too busy to take the 2 minutes to update their status with how busy they are, but whatever) We are all just so darned busy with work, and our families, kids sports, events, holidays, special projects and hobbies… Just. So. Busy. And we just keep adding things to our to-do list to be busy with little thought being placed on if we should add these things to the list. We just are mindlessly adding tasks. It’s as if busy has become a sport these days and frankly, there are no winners.

BusySo, I have to ask, when did being busy become so glamorous? I mean, we are all running around like chickens with our heads cut off and it doesn’t seem to be accomplishing much, I mean the busier I am, it seems the less that actually gets accomplished. Think about it, everyone is talking about how busy they are. It almost feels like people are bragging about it, as if it is something to revere. And now there is this feeling that busy is rewarded. Busy = important. Well, I am here to say that this must end. We must end the glorification of busy. To me, busy = inefficient. I have seen too many projects, too many products, too many campaigns, strategies (insert all work) take too long because someone needed to be busy. We reward busy. Because in some environments, people keep score, people keep score over who’s the busiest. Work that takes longer seems more thoughtful. I’ve yet to see this assertion validated. So, I’ve got an idea…let’s stop filling time and start fulfilling missions.

Stop filling time and fulfill your missions

As a consultant, I am frequently asked if I work full time. This is when it hit me, because my reply to this shocks people, but it also gives them something to ponder: “I don’t believe in the concept of ‘full-time’”. You see, here’s the thing, I don’t believe in the arbitrary filling of time. What I do believe in is getting shit done, fulfilling my missions. I believe in solving complex business problems in the simplest way possible. I believe in building a great product for talent. I believe in pushing the envelope in digital marketing and talent acquisition strategy. Does that fit in a “work week”? You bet. Because I am monomaniacally focused on fulfilling missions.

Sometimes I am done early and can fulfill my other missions of caring for my family and friends. If you know me personally, you have found me to have a ton of energy and this is my secret because, fulfilling missions focuses you. It gives you energy. When you are energized, you’re more efficient and effective. That is all I am looking for in my work experience. I want to do a great job for people. And that cannot be defined by the amount of time I spend doing something. And it shouldn’t be defined for you that way either.

The benefits

What being “all about the mission” doesn’t do? It forces you away from busy work. It makes you ask the question of each and every task if this is contributing to mission fulfillment or simply filling time. It keeps you away from the gossip and the tasks that are designed to block your mission fulfillment.

Filling time is a natural human activity. I realized some time ago that we humans will fill whatever space we are given with stuff. Our homes, our cars, our pockets, wallets, purses, backpacks, hoodies, whatever it is, we will fill it. Turns out, it applies to time as well. We fill our time with tasks that do not add value, only take up space in our day. To that, I say, no more. It is useless and wasteful.

SME Digital is a Lean organization, we can’t afford wasteful, so we don’t. As we add talent to our team, know this, we are all about fulfilling missions. Sound appealing? Visit our Careers page. Wanna call BS, hit up the comments.

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About the Author

Tracey Parsons
Since 1995, Tracey has been developing digital solutions. Currently SME Digital’s lead strategist, she continues to be dedicated to bringing cutting edge, thoughtful and measurable solutions to marketers. With more than 15 years in digital, Tracey not only brings vision, but the tools and strategies to execute against complex next generation concepts. She has worked with some of the world’s most recognized brands to develop and devise cutting-edge social, mobile and digital marketing practices.

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