To get irritated by competitive 'busy-ness?'

[Murphy0510]

Yep, we get it. You're busy. Why the need to tell people about it? If I hear one more school mum tell me how very busy they are I shall scream! We're ALL busy!

I have friends who write their days busy itinerary as their facebook update. "just cleaned the bathroom and baked a cake, quick cup of tea then off to the supermarket before the school run, busy busy busy!" It's as if they're worried someone is going to notice they're sat on facebook with a cup of tea and tell them off for slacking.

People who are genuinely busy, don't have time to chatter on and on and on about how busy they are!

It drives me crazy too. But mostly I feel guilty because with five children I am still very rarely busy and wonder what the heck I must be doing wrong as every other SAHM I know always seems to be busy.

You need my late MIL's reply to people telling her how busy they are:

"Never mind, busy hands are happy hands"!

(And be prepared to run )

I've been known to make out I've been busy to cover how little I've actually done...

I am happily unbusy

But I do need to get a hobby (or a life)

I did have a random Facebook friend who would post to do lists .. And tick them off .. Washing up done beds stripped time for coffee

I told her to fer coffee and hid her

this is on MN a lot too... all those posts about how long everyone works and all they have to do at home and references to 'slaving away'

I'm often not busy at all. I have a bath every evening and read my book

oh, now we're getting into competitive un-busy-ness

Ooh I know someone just like this, so 'busy' and 'stressed' and - most importantly it seems - making sure that everyone knows it. I'm sure she is busy and stressed, and I do have sympathy for people whose lives are so full they don't have time to relax, but please don't give me a long list of things you've got to do every single time you see me!

It's not just a case of a standard response to a 'how are you?', it's the constant stream of lists of things she has to do, how little time she has to do it, how many activities her children do and how she finds it so hard to get them all there and back, how little she has time to eat... every single conversation, however short or long, comes back to her busy stressful and tiring life

I have spent today on FB, MN and Amazon. Busy busy busy

LaQueen - I think the person I know is like this - she sees busyness as a measure of her success, perhaps a kind of stealth boasting IYSYIM. Underlying feelings of inadequacy?

Laqueen, that is exactly what the competitive busy people that I know are like. 'Oh no, I've lost a stone in weight as I'm so busy I have no time to eat', just when they've been boasting on FB about preparing an organic casserole for the family!

Oh god, See I AM really busy, always something to bloody do! I hate it. I would love to have a chance to relax apart from sporadic 'cant be fucked' or pre planned days off. Pfft.

Yes, merlin! Always late because they are just so 'busy'. Never mind anyone else being busy and having to waste time waiting for them. They expect the whole world to fit in around them

Hmm... I'm off work today too. I've managed the multiple cups of coffee and MN, but have only just started on the washing and hoovering... I only seem to be able to get motivated about an hour before the DCs get home from school

I am busy...procrastinating over essay

People sometimes ask me if I had a nice weekend and my answer is usually - well I was at work listening to ill people so I'm a bit tired, and they're like "oh..' and I sort of feel like I should have made something up.."yes I was baking scones/at the ballet/making picture frames/putting up bunting/finishing that bottle of gin under the sink." Actually by Sunday night that last bit is usually true...

I met a woman socially recently whose entire conversation centred around competitive busyness. Her opening line "Im so busy, oh yes, I am studying and I have 3 children" etc etc great good for you. Bumped into her again same thing if I was paranoid I would think she was proving a point as am to the casual observer a SAHM (though work from home) to 2 so definitely lose on the busy front. Still for 10 years I worked so hard it would make the average persons head spin (solicitor in corporate finance in the City oh how I worked.. every evening, often all night, weekend had no life) so now ADORE that I have time to myself and find competitive busyness slightly sad as have top trumped on the busy front and it is not pretty.

I don't mean I'm under the sink- just the gin.

I'm simply too busy to even start being competitive about it.

LaQ's SIL sounds like my MIL. She hasn't worked in 35 years. For all bar 3 of the school years her children were at boarding school.
She has always, as long as I've known her, been 'very busy'. Really? Really? What long outstanding lists of things have you not managed to get round to in the past FOUR DECADES of having all your time to yourself?

Always makes me laugh when someone puts on FB "busy, busy, busy" or the like. You're so busy you have time to be on FB?!