How "busy" is busy?

How busy is busy? Is there a test for measuring how busy we actually are? It’s a phrase we toss around all the time, use interchangeably in our daily lives whenever something from our personal agenda happens to come up into conversation, or as a statement to let others know that we don’t have time for your wants and needs, I’m busy damnit.

It’s a phrase I notice I toss around quite often, even more so since becoming both a teacher and journalist in Korea. While this may sound like I’m about to unveil a shocking truth about me never actually being busy, it’s not. When I say I am busy, I really do mean it. I have a fairly full schedule that I manage to complete fairly effectively every week, while at the same time maintaining a healthy social life. The question is not if I am busy or not, but rather just how busy I am.

I’m more than willing to admit that I am fully capable of wasting copious amounts of time if need be. On days where I deskwarm* close to 80% of the time is spent browsing the internet, searching desperately for a digital tidbit to starve off my boredom for a few minutes more. The remaining 20% is usually spent writing, reading, or preparing lesson plans. Before you say how this looks bad on my part for taking such a short amount of time planning lessons, rest assured that most of my lessons are planned in advance at home (hence the busy part). I know I waste time at school when I’m not teaching, so the “how busy am I?” question is all but moot here. I want to know how busy I am when I actually say and acknowledge I am busy.

A typical busy night will have me going home at around 5 PM. I usually end up going to bed around 1 AM or earlier depending on the events that the following day will hold or how fatigued I am feeling. What happens between those times?

5:30 PM: Sit and read the news, watch YouTube clips, read comics, sit and stare ahead processing the events of the day.

6:00 PM: Start thinking about what I have to do tonight. Do I have to clean house? Meet someone? Make dinner? Write an article? Plan a lesson? All of the above?  Wow, I guess I better get started…  after I finish watching this video.

6:15 PM: Ok, now it’s really time to get ready. I should get started…. This video is part of playlist? Well, I suppose it wouldn’t hurt if I went through all of them. It’s only about 12 minutes after all.

6:25 PM: Almost done…

6:27 PM: Finished, wow that was fun. It’s not even seven yet, I’m doing pretty well.

6:28 PM: Holy crap, it’s almost seven. I have to meet someone at eight.

6:30 PM: At this point, I’m frantically scrambling to get ready and change into new clothes, a necessity since the summers in Korea are so hot and humid that your clothes by the end of the day have soaked up more sodium and fluid than the Dead Sea.  How well do I know the person I am meeting? Am I friends? Are they judgmental?  Do they care how I dress? They don’t? Jeans and a crappy t shirt it is.

6:40 PM: Well I said I would meet them at seven and technically, I can make it if I walk, but since its hot as balls out, I’ll just end up looking like I slaved away in the salt mines so, taxi it is.

6:45 PM: I sure wish I had some cash in my wallet. This check card is super nifty with me never having to carry cash, but finding a cab driver that accepts a card in my town is like finding money on the street. Probable it will happen, but don’t count on it to pay the bills for you. That being said, time to stop at the bank.

6:50 PM: Well only ten minutes left until I have to meet up, thank God taxis are pretty fast around here. If one ever shows up… I swear I just saw an entire fleet of them a few seconds ago…

7:05 PM: I finally found a cab and am now on my way to the station. Sure I’ll be a little late but hey, it took a long time to find a cab, fate’s conspiring against me today. It’s not like leaving a little earlier would have made any difference right? Right?

7:10 PM: I finally show up at our meeting spot and apologize profusely for being late. It will never happen again you tell your guest, as long as I have no Youtube videos to watch**

8:13 PM: Wow, it sure was fun meeting up. I had a great time, we should do this more often. If you’ll excuse me though, I have to return home, I’m very busy you see (LOL).

8:15 PM: Since I have time to spare I’ll just walk home. I’m not in a rush (even though I’m busy) and who wants to spend 2,500 won anyway?

8:32 PM: Finally made it back. That was a nice walk, time to start writing and lesson planning.

8:33 PM: I sure am hungry though. I should probably eat first. I’m so tired though, I don’t really feel like cooking today.

8:35 PM: Why hello kimbap take out place only a few minutes from my apartment. Guess what I’ll be eating tonight?

8:45 PM: Glad I grabbed take out instead of taking time to cook, now time to eat this meal and get to work.

8:47 PM: I don’t really want to eat in silence though. I should have something to keep me entertained while I eat. Time to go to Youtube… again.

9:10 PM: Well that was pretty good, not great but considering I saved time cooking, it was worth it. I was finished eating about five minutes ago but, those videos are so…damn… addicting.

9: 34 PM: Ok, for real, all done now. I watched every single video this user has posted along with his favorites. I’ve watched so many videos about him I’m pretty sure I am now qualified to give a psychological evaluation about his life.  Maybe I will… but that’s for another day. Remember, I’m busy.

9:40 PM: Let’s start lesson planning. This should be easy. I know exactly what I have to teach my students and how I will do it..

9:47 PM: Hmmm, this lesson is a lot shorter than I expected. I should add some more.

9:55 PM: Holy crap, this is too long, this can last three classes. What was I thinking?

10:05 PM: This looks good, it’s a nice balance. I just hope it’s not too difficult but I guess I’ll test that as I go along. This is the first time I’m giving this lesson. Prototype baby!

10:15 PM: Now it’s time to finish my last task (not really) and write that article. I’ve taken so many notes I’m sure it’s a matter of just writing itself at this point.

10: 20 PM: I don’t like the way this sounds. I’m going to re-write.

10:30 PM: Still don’t like it.

10:40 PM: Still don’t like it.

10:50 PM: I like it a little better. It’s slightly above literature prose homicide and now just a steaming pile of vile words and awkward sentences. I’m getting somewhere.

11:00 PM: I still hate it. I give up. I’ll finish it tomorrow.

11: 10 PM: What’s that awful smell?

11:11 PM: (Make a wish!) Oh wow, that’s me. Looks like its shower time.

11:24 PM: I feel so much better. Refreshed, clean and ready to make it all for nothing tomorrow morning when I sweat my ass off on the way to school!

11:27 PM: It’s time for bed. I’m tired and tomorrow is another busy day. I feel good though, I finished everything I wished to accomplish. I’m pretty good at this. 

11:28 PM: I forgot to clean today. Damnit.

It looks like a busy schedule, in some ways it is. I notice though that in between the actual busy parts I tend to waste a lot of time doing meaningless stuff.  I have to wonder though, is this normal? Are we as humans programmed to always waste time in between? Is there anyone out there that has a 100% efficient work ethic?

I am busy. I do accomplish my work but I can’t help but feel the amount of time I waste, could be used for so much more. It something that I’ve struggled with and something that 

I hope to figure out. My goal is to have a perfect work ethic one day. It’s a goal that I will shoot for… tomorrow.

The desk of a busy man or a messy man? You decide.

*deskwarming is when teachers go to school and do not have any classes to teach so they spend the days sitting at their desk hence the term ‘deskwarming’

**As  long as the internet exists, this will never happen.