Busyness Quotes

“The greatest enemy of good thinking is busyness.”
― John C. Maxwell, The 360 Degree Leader: Developing Your Influence from Anywhere in the Organization

“Some times things just fall off your plate.”
― V.K. Springs

“I wanted to figure out why I was so busy, but I couldn't find the time to do it.”
― Todd Stocker

“Busy hands achieve more than idle tongues.”
― Matshona Dhliwayo

“The world is too much with us; late and soon,
Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;
Little we see in Nature that is ours;
We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon!”
― William Wordsworth

“Repose, leisure, peace, belong among the elements of happiness. If we have not escaped from harried rush, from mad pursuit, from unrest, from the necessity of care, we are not happy. And what of contemplation? Its very premise is freedom from the fetters of workaday busyness. Moreover, it itself actualizes this freedom by virtue of being intuition.”
― Josef Pieper, Happiness and Contemplation

“We have become a nation of thoughtless rushers, intent on doing before thinking, and hoping what we do magically works out. If it doesn’t, we rush to do something else, something also not well thought-out, and then hope for more magic.”
― Len Holman

“Busyness chokes deep thinking.”
― Todd Stocker, Refined: Turning Pain into Purpose

“In consequence, when the pleasures have been removed which busy people derive from their actual activities, the mind cannot endure the house, the solitude, the walls, and hates to observe its own isolation. From this arises that boredom and self-dissatisfaction, that turmoil of a restless mind and gloomy and grudging endurance of our leisure, especially when we are ashamed to admit the reasons for it and our sense of shame drives the agony inward, and our desires are trapped in narrow bounds without escape and stifle themselves. From this arise melancholy and mourning and a thousand vacillations of a wavering mind, buoyed up by the birth of hope and sickened by the death of it. From this arises the state of mind of those who loathe their own leisure and complain that they have nothing to do, and the bitterest envy at the promotion of others. For unproductive idleness nurtures malice, and because they themselves could not prosper they want everyone else to be ruined. Then from this dislike of others' success and despair of their own, their minds become enraged against fortune, complain about the times, retreat into obscurity, and brood over their own sufferings until they become sick and tired of themselves.”
― Seneca, On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It

“This philosophy rejects busyness, seeing overload as an obstacle to producing results that matter, not a badge of pride.”
― Cal Newport, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

“I've known a lot of
hummingbirds. I used to
be one too. But then
I grew.

An ostrich now,
I listen. I wait.
Grounded (but quick
when I need to be).

I've still got
that sprint in me.”
― Jenny Noble Anderson

“I’ve learned is that the pursuit of busyness has become our greatest source of unhappiness.”
― Keisha Blair

“I’ve recognized that “busy is a decision” and that presence is more rewarding than productivity or efficiency”
― Keisha Blair

“I’m too busy’ is another way of saying, ‘It’s not a priority.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, Listen to Your Conscience: That's Why You Have One

“The relentless overload that’s wearing us down is generated by a belief that ‘good’ work requires increasing busyness—faster responses to email and chats, more meetings, more tasks, more hours.”
― Cal Newport, Slow Productivity: The Lost Art of Accomplishment Without Burnout

“Sometimes people don't know their dreams until they're in it. Other times, their dreams escape them because they are too busy being busy.”
― Lisa Yee, Maizy Chen's Last Chance

“Indistractable Focus improves production more than "keeping busy" ever will”
― Frank D. Prestia

“When you’re constantly barreling forward, you’re not really paying attention to what’s happening around you.” A small smile played around Olivia’s lips. “Not really giving yourself a chance to change course.”
― Khristin Wierman, This Time Could Be Different

“Every time you're tempted to say 'I'm too busy' say instead, 'That's not a priority for me, therefore it's not a promise I've made and I'll have to decline.' If you're brave enough to make the switch, one of two things is going to happen when you do:

Either you're going to feel really bad when you realize that something that deeply matters to you (your kids, your health, your marriage, your commitment to justice, cultivating lifelong friendships) isn't actually the priority you want to believe it is. This will compel you to go back to your Very Important Promises and see what you can cut in order to create space for the things that really matter to you.
OR
Saying that statement may initially sting because we've been conditioned to feel bad about 'Nos,' but as the words settle, it will feel true<>/i> to you. Instead of allowing this thing you're 'too busy for' to perpetually hang over your head, your NO (because it is not a priority or a promise) will free you up to unapologetically and confidently spend your limited moments and resources on the things that matter most to you.”
― Liz Forkin Bohannon, Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now

“Every time you're tempted to say 'I'm too busy' say instead, 'That's not a priority for me, therefore it's not a promise I've made and I'll have to decline.' If you're brave enough to make the switch, one of two things is going to happen when you do:

Either you're going to feel really bad when you realize that something that deeply matters to you (your kids, your health, your marriage, your commitment to justice, cultivating lifelong friendships) isn't actually the priority you want to believe it is. This will compel you to go back to your Very Important Promises and see what you can cut in order to create space for the things that really matter to you.
OR
Saying that statement may initially sting because we've been conditioned to feel bad about 'Nos,' but as the words settle, it will feel true to you. Instead of allowing this thing you're 'too busy for' to perpetually hang over your head, your NO (because it is not a priority or a promise) will free you up to unapologetically and confidently spend your limited moments and resources on the things that matter most to you.”
― Liz Forkin Bohannon, Beginner's Pluck: Build Your Life of Purpose and Impact Now

“My heart is broken, Nell thinks. But in our family we don't say, "My heart is broken." We say, "Are there any cookies?" One must eat. One must keep busy. One must distract oneself. But why? What for? For whom?”
― Margaret Atwood, Old Babes in the Wood: Stories

“#BookedAndBusy has its place, but so does #BlessedAndRested.”
― Lisa Hurley, Space To Exhale: A Handbook for Curating a Soft, Centered, Serene Life

“Busyness is not business, because one can be busy transacting nothing.”
― Utibe Samuel Mbom, Your Clients and You

“You know you’ve lost your simplicity when you’ve found your busy-ness.”
― Sol Luckman, Get Out of Here Alive: Inner Alchemy & Immortality

“Most people are so busy chasing things they don’t have, that they fail to appreciate the things they do.”
― Frank Sonnenberg, Values to Live By: Know What Matters Most and Let It Be Your Guide

“Move the needle—busyness is illusion. effectiveness drives transformation.”
― Farshad Asl

“I couldn't keep up with praying for all these good causes.”
― Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem

“We know that we can always pray more and give more and evangelize more, so we get used to living in a state of mild disappointment with ourselves. That's not how the apostle Paul lived (1 Cor. 4:4), and it's not how God wants us to live either (Rom. 12:1-2).”
― Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem

“I can forget that my circle of influence will inevitably be smaller than my circle of concern.”
― Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem

“I have often marvelled to think that Jesus was so terrifically busy, but only with the things he was supposed to be doing”
― Kevin DeYoung, Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem