I’d love to participate, but I’m too busy right now.

It seems like busy-ness is the universally acceptable excuse for anything. We’re all busy, busy is good, and it’s the way we’ve defined life.

As a result, I’m finding it fascinating to be in a place of having more time to be intentional. I took a break from marketing my coaching business this year, and as a result I created a bunch of time to focus on my other priorities.

It’s a bit disorienting, honestly.

But the perspective I’ve gained is that busy-ness is mostly a self-imposed situation. If we’re not busy, something seems wrong so we like to fill up the space with doing stuff. Not necessarily important stuff, mind you, just activity to consume the day. Being exhausted at the end of the day is important to us, I guess.

I’ve had the opportunity to work with clients who felt as if their boss and organization had the right to run their lives into the ground. I actually had one tell me a few years ago that it was “impossible” for him to say no to any request his manager made, no matter how intrusive or unreasonable.

From the outside, of course, you see how wrong this statement is. At the very least, he could have just walked away from his job, so it wasn’t actually “impossible.” Counter-cultural, perhaps. Inconvenient, sure. Even risky.

The question I ask in this situation is: What would actually happen if got in an accident or were sick for a few weeks? Because, of course, that’s where you’re headed with this level of stress.

The honest answer is usually that the work would get quite messed up. Deadlines would be missed, and perhaps you’d even lose your job. But then the system would likely heal itself – others would pick up some slack, expectations would be reset, deadlines would be adjusted. But rarely would there be lasting damage to the organization as a whole.

And, honestly, sometimes losing your job isn’t the worst thing that can happen to your life. There are other opportunities out there, should you work to find them.

I worked with a company owner some years ago who made it a practice to take a month vacation every year. Yes, a solid month away from the company. I asked him how he made this work, and to be sustainable over many years.

The first key was to set expectations. Yes, he was going to be gone between certain dates, so it would be useful to adjust peoples’ roles well in advance. Then, they planned what would happen if there was some kind of important event or “emergency” during this period. At the beginning, he would “check in” via cell phone for the first few days, then every 2 or 3 days, then … as needed.

He found this to be an important leadership development opportunity for his team. They found out that they were much more self-sufficient than they expected, and when the boss trusted their good sense, they were able to trust themselves. After a few years, everybody came out of it more energized and refreshed, and the whole organization was healthier.

And the owner? He was the most refreshed of anyone, revitalized with new ideas and perspectives.

THAT’S the value of not running yourself to the ragged edge of busy-ness all the time.