Busy

May 4, 2015
Business psychologist Crabbe draws an amicably accessible blueprint for escaping a state of extreme activity. According to Crabbe, our lives have become increasingly cluttered thanks to technological and social advances. The concept of choice is key. As he writes, chronically busy people can choose to let go of the need to control every aspect of their lives and instead prioritize various aspects over others. Being busy is for Crabbe more construct than reality, and so changing a pattern of endless activity involves changes in thinking. The book’s format is itself somewhat busy: information is presented in small chunks, which can make for an interrupted reading experience. However, the content is more organized in the catchy summaries that conclude each chapter. A business focus becomes somewhat too important to Crabbe’s thesis, as if busy, overscheduled modern lives are necessarily attached to high-paying corporate jobs. Nevertheless, for anyone juggling an ever-expanding schedule in or outside the corporate world, this book might be worth fitting in.

July 1, 2015
We're not as busy as we think. The busyness comes from avoidance, addiction, branding, and hiding the fact that we don't want to make hard choices, declares business psychologist Crabbe. Whether self-induced or not, busyness has physical consequences in accelerated wear and tear on the brain and the body. The information age has resulted in individuals being simultaneously overstimulated and bored, connected and isolated. Crabbe argues that the remedy for busyness is not relaxation but sustained, focused attention that really gets to the heart of what is important, addresses it, and moves on to engage in other things worthy of our attention. We need to shift from managing time to managing attention. First, he advises readers to redefine success to directly connect to core values, then to replace busyness with deep engagement. Finally, he advises on how to be happier by doing what you want and ending the cycle of useless busyness. Crabbe draws on psychological research and stories from business and personal lives. He ends each chapter with suggestions for exercises (e.g., be more playful, switch off e-mails for a day). Sound advice, well worth consideration and action.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)