Wait…being busy isn’t good for business?

Surely that isn’t true. As any business owner knows, being busy is the key to productivity. It’s the key to getting work done. And it’s key to turning a business, big or small, into a success.

Right?

Well…yes and no….

You see, there’s being busy and there’s being too busy! There’s a difference.

When you are too busy, the following things can happen.

You can overlook your employees. Have you ever sent an employee away because you’re too busy to speak to them? Have you ever neglected to check up on how they are doing, on both a personal and professional level? To help your employees become better workers, and to improve their morale at work, you need to make time for them. If you don’t, they might grow resentful at being overlooked, and they might make mistakes in their work that could undermine your business.

You can overlook your customers. Blast that ringing phone! Curse the ping of your email box! Phooey to those customers who are desperately trying to reach you with queries and complaints. If you are busy with the day-to-day running of your business, you might be tempted to let the phone ring, or delay sending a reply back to any email or voice message that your customer has left you. But you do so at your peril. Your customers should be your #1 priority as with one complaint on social media or business review site; they could damage your business reputation. The least you can do is invest in an answering service app or a chatbot for your website for some of your communications, but you should also block in time each day to respond on a personal level to encourage customer loyalty.

You can make mistakes. When you’re juggling task A, B, and C (in short, multitasking), you can confuse your brain and make silly little mistakes that could later have consequences. You can read further into the matter in this article on multitasking and brain health. So, if you assume you are being productive by handling several tasks at once, the opposite is true, as you might have to redo something you have done badly or apologise to clients and customers for the errors you have made when doing business with them. We appreciate you have a lot on your plate, but it’s worth delegating some of your to-do list to less-busy employees or outsourcing to another firm so you can focus on those tasks that more readily fit into your remit, skill set, and the available time you have each day. 

You can become unwell. Your mind and body can only take so much, so if you are constantly running yourself ragged with busyness, you will feel the consequences eventually. As suggested in this article, busyness can lead to chronic stress, and that can lead to low moods, aggressive outbursts, and feelings of exhaustion. If you continue down the path of busyness, you might eventually hit burnout, and that will be no good for yourself or your business, as you will become too unwell to work. Slow down then, delegate to staff and outsource, or use productivity tools to make your life easier in the day.

Today, think about your level of busyness. If you are doing more than you should, and you have related to the consequences of busyness suggested in this article, perhaps it’s time to slow down. Prioritise the tasks you have to do and leave non-essential jobs until tomorrow, and follow some of the suggestions we gave you to make your day a little easier. You will improve both your personal health and the health of your business if you do.