Busy

Publisher's Summary

It's difficult to ask anybody "how are you?" without hearing the word "busy" somewhere in their response. We feel overwhelmed by busyness because of the demands on our time: our inboxes and our to-do lists are bulging, a huge amount of people expect things from us and our organisations are trying to do more with fewer people. But it doesn't have to be that way.

In reality, busyness isn't essential. Yes, there is a lot to do, but believing you're always busy because you have so much to do is both false and unhelpful. Busyness is a normal response to a world of too much, but it isn't the only response.

In Busy Tony Crabbe draws on solid psychological research to address one of the great problems of modern life: we're too busy. But it isn't a time-management book. Rather than providing advice for increasing productivity and efficiency, it sets out four key strategies (corresponding to sections of the book) for thriving despite of the overload of too much:

1. Mastery - to move beyond busyness you need to regain a sense of mastery over your life. This section shows you how to build a sense of control back into your life, take responsibility for making choices and set boundaries to protect you from the flood of demands and information.

2. Focus - in a world of too much, success is not about doing more at work but about making an impact. This section outlines three ways to move to a career strategy that doesn't rely on productivity alone.

3. Engagement - busyness can cause you to disengage from the people, values and activities that are important to us. This section provides you with the three keys to reengaging with your work and life.

4. Momentum - part of the challenge to moving beyond busyness is that even if you agree you should make the change, you're too busy to find the time and energy to do anything about it. This section is dedicated to helping you make the change, creating the impetus, energy and clarity to move to a life less busy.

©2015 Tony Crabbe (P)2015 Hachette Audio

Critic Reviews

"This book has the power to change your life. In this thought provoking guidebook to today's world of 'too much', Tony Crabbe destroys the myth of 'busyness' and provides practical, thoughtful advice to help individuals (and their organisations) unleash their true potential." (Dave Coplin, chief envisioning officer, Microsoft UK and author of Business Reimagined)

"Over the past 20 years, all of us who are connected to the Internet have been overwhelmed by the disease of busy-ness. We seem to have less control over professional and social lives and ever more and more consumed by a world of 'too much'. This book is the medicine we have been looking for to become healthier, happier and successful human beings. It is packed with great ideas built on cutting-edge research and best practices. Interesting stories and wonderful practical strategies help the reader to be able to truly thrive in today's busy world. This is the best book I have read in the past 10 years!" (Michael Marquardt, professor, George Washington University; president, World Institute for Action Learning; and best-selling author of Leading with Questions)

"Solid psychological research to address one of the great problems of modern life." ( The Courier Mail)

Getting things done—right

This book is an makes for an interesting companion to the time management classic "Getting Things Done," in that it helps you figure out which "things" you actually want to do. It also makes a convincing argument that people who strive to be strategic with their time, rather than simply efficient, are not only more effective at their jobs—they're happier, too. Don't try to do everything, the author says—do the right things to get what you want. The same holds true for companies: don't try to be everything to every consumer. Settle on your true brand, and do what makes you the best at it.

If you haven't read "Getting Things Done," I would recommend reading this first, as it puts you in the right mindset for learning concrete strategies for success.

4 of 4 people found this review helpful

Useful and Interesting!

I listened to this on audiobook. Ironically, I did it while I was working on some rather mundane and lengthy projects.

I am recommending this to both of my grown children.

Learned a lot: Put the big things first!

Loved it.

Recommend it for anyone that feels like they can't manage their time, are too busy, or just have too much on their plate.

In summary, manage your attention not your time. Instead of doing more, be strategic in what you spend your time and attention on.

For more, get this book.

Amazing book. Must listen.

Tony crabbe's done a fantastic job with this book. Really addressed a pain area for so many of us in today's environment. Never had so many takeaways from an audio book till date and I've gone through many. It's also changed my thinking from busy is good to busy is a disaster. It's a word that I cringe to use now.

Life Changing

Loved it. I'm going back through and revisit bookmarks to make some changes in my life. Looking forward to sharing it with family and friends!

Stimulating

I have been falling into the busy trap again and this audiobook helped me to get back to thinking and to start delegating things again so that I can get back to enjoying my family and life more. Well written, well told and pulls together the threads of others' work well

Thorough and simply inspiring

Finished it in 2 weeks. New personal record, felt very drawn to the subject so listened at least a chapter a day

Wow

This book changed my perspective on how I saw thing. I purchased purchased this book because of how overwhelmed I was with work and life. I couldn't find a balance. I definitely recommend this to everyone.

Don't be a BUSY fool!

Where does Busy rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

Don't be too BUSY to read or listen to this book. It is a fantastic reality check on how we go about our business and personal life and it will make you start questioning your daily habits and the "I am too busy to do that" attitude we all adopt at times. Tony brings a real passion and inspiration to the book along with a very personal style. Best book of 2015 for me, a must read. Thank you.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Fantastic book showing how to move beyond busy

A collection of insights that really made me think about how to focus my time and attention. My 2 favourites are “chunking my time” to deal with priorities in blocks and making tough decisions on what to spend time on. I will listen and re-listen to this. Thankyou Tony Crabbe!

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Meh.

A couple of good insights, but definitely not worth the time it takes to listen to the whole thing. Very surface- level and iterative.

Many useful tips in this book

So many useful tips in this book that I also bought the paperback version, particularly so that I can refer back to the end of chapter summaries.

Useful book but too much borrowed from other authors

I broadly enjoyed this book but found it somewhat irritating that so many examples and anecdotes had been lifted from other recent books on personal development, growth, behavioural economics etc. You don’t have to be extensively well read to realise that a significant portion of this book is not original in its content and the collection of much of it in a popularised format has been done before. Still the book is worth a read.

Thought provoking, engaging and useful!

This book has given me a new a refreshing outlook to my work and my life. Mainly, for me, it has reminded me to be present more often, plan in time for meaningfully asks, and to be confident to say odeon time to time.

A wonderfully written and performed piece, that I have enjoyed each day walking to work.

Well done and thank you, Tony!

Thought provoking stuff

Really enjoyed listening to this book and have many great take always that I am looking forward to implementing in my life and have even seen some quick wins in action