---
title: Busyness
created: 2024-11-18T09:18:12
modified: 2025-12-21T15:01:26
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> _“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates_

> _“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” — Lao Tzu_

> _[“Working hard for a long time without checking what the better things to be working on are is a hidden form of laziness. A laziness that disguises itself as something to be proud of.” — Julian Shapiro](https://x.com/Julian/status/1452676852032499713)_

> _“Busyness is no different from laziness when it doesn’t lead you to accomplish anything.” — [@baileyProductivityProjectAccomplishing2016]_

> _“I’m about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes. The word “busy” is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction. Remember: men are never too busy to get what they want.” — Greg Behrendt, [He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys](https://www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/822184)_

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# Perpetual Busyness: We’re in the midst of a global busyness crisis

* [The Busy Trap = The Rat Race](https://fs.blog/david-foster-wallace-this-is-water/) — A treadmill to nowhere
	* = 瞎忙 = 窮忙 = 假勤奮 = 偽生產力 [^1]
* Often, we found there was a lot of _movement_, but _no forward progress_ (like a “[Rocking Horse](https://www.google.com/search?q=Rocking+Horse)” — always moving, but never going anywhere). [^2]
* 有時候，我們會覺得自己很忙，好像做了很多事，卻根本沒做出什麼明顯的成績。有行動，卻沒有成果。辛苦了老半天，結果卻回到原點，開始時和結束時的狀態都差不多，沒什麼進展。這正是 [「效率 (Efficient) 」與「效能 (Effective) 」](what-you-work-on-is-far-more-important-than-how-productively-you-work.md) 的關鍵區別。兩者看似相近，實則大不相同 — 如果方向錯了，即使做得再好，也只是徒勞無功。
* **Action:** Break the busyness cycle. Don’t fall into “The Efficiency Trap.”

[The Red Queen Effect](The%20Red%20Queen%20Effect.md)

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# [“Being In Motion vs. Taking Action” by James Clear](https://jamesclear.com/taking-action)

> _“Never mistake activity for achievement.” — John Wooden_

* You gain clarity through _motion_, but don’t mistake motion with _action_. Beware of false progress.

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# Don’t confuse being _busy_ with being _[productive](Productivity.md)_.

* [Being busy is a form of laziness–lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.](https://tim.blog/2013/11/03/productivity-hacks/)
* [Being busy is most often used as a guise for avoiding the few critically important but uncomfortable actions.](https://tim.blog/2013/11/03/productivity-hacks/)

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The most invisible form of wasted time is doing a good job on an unimportant task.

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[Scarcity creates a mindset that perpetuates scarcity](scarcity-creates-a-mindset-that-perpetuates-scarcity.md)

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[What you work on is far more important than how productively you work](what-you-work-on-is-far-more-important-than-how-productively-you-work.md)

[^1]: Hard work is a secret form of [procrastination](procrastination.md) or laziness due to a misallocation of [time](time-is-the-most-valuable-asset.md) and [energy](energy-management.md).
[^2]: Rocking Horse (搖搖馬) ↔ Carousel (旋轉木馬)