Does Being Busy Make You Valuable?
by Miki Saxon
Live mindfully long enough and you can get an interesting perspective on lifestyle changes.
Some will please, some not; some you’ll question, some deplore, and some will cause you to shake your head in amazement.
The last is how I felt when I read new research from HBS.
In fact, some boast the lack of spare time as a status symbol—even an aspirational lifestyle.
“The new conspicuous consumption is about saying, I am the scarce resource, and therefore I am valuable.”
I’ve seen this first hand, not just in the startup community or twenty-somethings, but among Gen Xers, Boomers and even my own peers.
It used to be that overload came from always saying yes, instead of a carefully evaluated “no” — however, if you are known for saying ‘yes’ be prepared for the backlash if you change.
These days, the things that keep you busy also need to raise your profile/ reputation/Klout score/ increase your Likes/generate followers (preferably on multiple platforms)/social presence/etc.
A couple of year after I started MCS a reader asked why I bothered to do it when it generated so few comments.
My response was that I wasn’t writing to promote myself, but to provide information to those who wanted/needed it and that comments came when readers had questions or wanted to add to the dialogue.
While accurate, my response ignored the fact that because my blog is not high profile commenting on it has a very low ROI.
That said, I understand and don’t fault readers.
We live in a world where building your personal brand is a necessary part of building a career, so the time allotted to writing comments needs to provide a certain ROI and, of course, you are busy.
OK, I get all that.
But no matter how long I live I doubt I’ll ever understand the fragility of egos that need to prove their value so badly they are willing to give up their lives to do it.
Image credit: Sean MacEntee
