Beware the Barrenness of Busy Life

Man is a social animal and has always sought some sort of interconnection with other species; be it on a spiritual, economic, physical or colloquial level. This quest of man has led to many developments; some intrinsic, other like snake’s skin that sheds itself regularly. Man’s propensity to stay can be likened to be an intrinsic value in this contemporary world, a quality it needs to shed away to regain the sanity it craves and the peace of mind it deserves.

Keeping aside the populace who thrives on being busy, also termed as workaholics for following such a lifestyle; ordinary humans have also followed their contemporaries into being busy. The darkness as foretold by Socrates in his famous quote “Beware the barrenness of busyness” has engulfed common man hi his day to day dealings, culture and even norms that persist in this contemporary world. One may inquire about the motive behind such a quote and what life lessons compelled him to say this.

As civilization progressed, man’s need to connect from one part of the globe to the other has followed suit. Man, who was happy with just a day’s labor and two daily meals, and a good night’s sleep has grown into a restless state in this pursuit of the unknown. Some classify this mysterious unknown as happiness, some may term it progress while a select few whisper fallacies of the brain that must be avoided at all costs. Luckily for us, living in the “Internet Age” man did not rest upon his laurels and searched for the unknown. In this quest, he stumbled upon discovery after discovery which led to this modern enlightenment. Thus man not resting on his laurels and firmly following the dynamic path laid in front of him led to us to this day and age.

The problems didn’t begin until recently when people began to wonder about their habits and started questioning their well-practiced routines. At this juncture, they found out a key ingredient to their success. This was akin to their inner as well as the periphery, the attribute of dynamism and busyness. The contemporary world is rife with the philosophies of capitalism and in this predominantly capitalist world, time is money as the proverbial saying goes. Moreover, capital or in layman terms, money is the center of the universe around which our beautiful crafted world rotates around.

Set in this modern dystopia of money-based society, we have to set our goals, aims, lifestyles, and even calendars to the whims of capital. On this precarious planet, we are often told every second count and so the cliché goes; “If you stop you die”, “idleness will be the death of you”. It seems as if we are crossing the icy lands of Siberia and the moment we stop walking, we will perish due to the unbearable cold in this utopia. Consequently, standing still in today’s world means minimal accomplishments and minimal performance. This translates into very low output and hence wealth, which is crucial to our survival in this society.

The developing world is still catching up on the laurels of their much-advanced brethren of the developed world. Slowly but surely, the third world is catching up and is also experiencing the widespread acceptance of the notion that staying busy is the key to success. Even in budding economies such as Pakistan, the corporate culture of “look busy, do nothing” is fast engulfing the fabric of the society. These catchy capitalist mantras are well embedded now in the minds and the organizations of the country. In the quest to keep himself busy though, man has lost sight of what real and what is just there to stroke his already inflated ego. Amidst these times, people are trying to keep themselves busy by scheduling trivial tasks into their calendars so that God-forbid, they don’t fall prey to the calamity of not being busy.

Recent research conducted on this very notion at a world-renowned software firm on the question affirms our belief that if you are not busy, you are not working hard enough. They studied a phenomenon discussed by David Meyer from the University of Michigan, by testing their workers to affirm this hypothesis. The study observed the results of employees who were assigned tasks, and then some time into their tasks, they would be interrupted by another activity; after this interruption, their reactions to the interruption and its possible repercussions on their work performance were judged. The study showed a considerable decrease in productivity as people tried to do more i.e. switching to the second activity midway of the first task; thereby reaffirming the notion that productivity does not depend on long working hours or constant work.

Concerted, focused, rested, and relaxed individuals will often yield greater productivity. Mankind has conquered the earth and has made it habitable, but one thing is missing from man’s quest i.e peace of mind. It is time humans understood that a human brain needs rest to perform to its full capabilities. It needs the light-hearted moments each day for optimum functionality. To delve into the monotony of spreadsheets and endless heaps of documents, it also needs some time away from all of these to be rejuvenated and recharge its mental faculties. Humans need to understand they do need some idling as well.

The actions are simple, it is just the will power that is required for us to overcome this endless loop of restlessness and caving into the capitalistic tendencies around us. A little more ‘me’ time and curbing on our social media footprints, building relationships will all help us break this monotony of giving in to the whims of purely capitalistic ethos. Moment by moment, and by taking small steps; with the help of family and friends and shunning aside the splendor of social media life; we can become what we were intended to be; a family, a society and a world of interconnected individuals.

As indicated by the research mentioned above, and countless other stories of boredom and being kept busy just for the sake of it; scholars, researchers, and social thinkers must break this taboo of idleness as unproductivity and encourage people to be more leisurely and more reflective. People should give themselves some time to grow intellectually, morally, and physically by exploring the world around us with its numerous intricacies and splendidness and shun the habit of becoming a robotic slave to the world of supposed entrepreneurship and industrialism.