(By Alec Drake) As a manager, have you repeated a phrase from your parents to your team? I did this when a salesperson on my team felt down about their sales performance. My mother’s voice popped into my head, and I suggested, “Busy hands are happy hands.” Mom would deliver this phrase with self-implied direction and conviction when I was young and feeling stuck and down. Translation: do something instead of talking about your problem.
I learned later in life that Mom’s proclamation of being busy is partially true; being productive is the key to happiness and prosperity. Being busy distracts and can draw attention away from more significant problems. Being productive creates a broader benefit of accomplishment and purpose.
Happy is a Choice, Busy is a Circumstance
The pandemic thrust every manager into a very busy mindset as they scrambled to stabilize their teams’ new work environment. Selling days became jam-packed with chaotic change, especially for mothers juggling more responsibilities in a confined space and feeling pressured. Add the isolation from co-workers, fewer accolades in the hallways, the feeling of a cork on the ocean, and happy and busy are worlds apart.
Much has been written about being “happy” and how you can get there on life’s journey. I am no expert, and I have resolved that “happy” is relative to any moment you feel joy, comfort, true love, and soulful purpose. I also see “happy” as an internal force rather than an external pleasure, which is fleeting.
Being Busy Vs. Slowing Down
Peter Bregman wrote an interesting article in the early days of the pandemic, “Empathy Starts with Curiosity.” Peter pointed out that the pandemic pushed us to shed our public workplace mantel, which left a hole to fill in our minds. His focus on curiosity about his client’s needs during the pandemic opened inward thoughts on what he was also experiencing. He wrote, “Being curious about ourselves is how we begin to know — really know — who we are. That can be scary. But also, possibly, exciting and freeing. The hardest part? Slowing down enough to feel. Do you have the courage to slow down?”
Brian Ford, in his daily podcast “Self-Improvement Daily,” had one episode titled “Embrace Stillness,” speaking of being “still” and giving yourself time to get to know “you.” With millions of downloads, his podcast offers another reason to forego my mother’s well-meaning advice. Getting to know yourself does take time and is a journey with no end. You must cross your own “curiosity bridge” of self-discovery to enable you to enrich others in your work and your personal life.
Leadership requires strength, courage to be curious about yourself, and slowing down. There will always be times in our work when “busy” is present and pushing us through a day. Let’s consider that time is a circumstance and not overstate busy with the value of perceived productivity.
In Conclusion
In an ever-faster world of change and a business climate promoting speed, we should all stop and ask, “Are we too busy?” After all, busy hands are not happy hands, so some planned quiet time in your day could be a path to being more optimistic and productive. As leaders, managers, or team members who create the professional success we all seek, let’s give each other room to avoid being busy. Finding yourself can help you find your purpose in what we call “work,” which might make you happy.
Alec Drake advises and writes on revenue management. He founded T.R.I.P. “The Radio Invigoration Project” group and publishes a monthly newsletter, The Sales T.R.I.P. both on LinkedIn. Alec can be reached at [email protected]. His previous Radio Ink posts are here.
