The Danger In Always Being Busy

We all need time to breathe, both physically and mentally.

We all know that when we sit at our desks with computer screens blinking at us, we have to maintain the façade of constant busyness. After all, that is what we are paid for: billable time to billable clients, and phooey on those of us who don’t bill enough time to meet the requirements. I’m not talking about legitimate busyness but busyness used to impress, intimidate, or even depress.

Sometimes, we are caught (and I guess that’s the right word), staring into space, day dreaming, wool gathering, or any other term that connotes the opposite of busyness. And if we are not sufficiently busy, we all know what can and does happen as the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland would say: “off with their heads.”

How often do we answer each other’s question of “how are you doing?” with the answer of “busy, very busy,” and then the conversation proceeds to whatever matters prompted the conversation. Woe to those of us who dare to question another person’s busyness. (Have you ever considered why “business” and “busyness” share almost identical spelling?)

But just because we’re not churning out paper every minute of the billable day doesn’t mean that staring into space, doodling, or other activities aren’t useful in their own ways. We all need time to breathe, both physically and mentally, and research shows that taking a mental breather is just as important as taking a walk. And, by the way, have you heard that burnout is now an official medical diagnosis? Do you have any or all of these symptoms: exhaustion or depleted energy, feelings of negativism or cynicism toward your work, reduced professional efficiency? Call your health care professional, as they say in the TV ads.

Why do we have to look busy all the time? Dinosaurs, of which I am one, grew up in places and times where we had to be seen and seen to be busy. I don’t know if other dinosaurs had the same experience of “bed check,” where a department manager’s secretary would walk around the floor with a pad and pen at 8:30 and 4:30 every day to see who could be present and accounted for and who wasn’t. Being present meant being physically present, but not necessarily mentally present. Working remotely today is a godsend.

There is a case for doing nothing, just nothing. Busyness is a sign of perceived importance. Trust me, the rest of the world could care less about whether you are busy or not. Claiming to be busy is a screwed up status symbol.

We are so geared to go, go, go that we don’t know how to throttle back and just be. Even lawyers need to just be from time to time. It’s that down time when we are often are most creative at problem solving, and we seem to lack the ability to just be, especially when there’s work to be done, billing sheets to be submitted, and the like. Wouldn’t it be nice if lawyers could be judged on traits and accomplishments other than billables and receivables? Lawyers are more than those things.

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Smart phones, emails, texts. Technology which was touted as making life easier has been, in reality, just the reverse. Our profession has been revved up in ways that leave very little time, if any, for just thinking. And so far, we haven’t been able to bill for thinking time, although it would not surprise me if that time is embedded somewhere in bills. I’m just saying.

The New York Times article discusses the Dutch concept of “niksen,” (I have no idea if it’s pronounced like one of our former presidents.) “Niksen” is a car that is idling. It’s in neutral. Put your brain in neutral, researchers say, so that you can regard things from a distance and more clearly.

Accompanying busyness is overconfidence, a trait that I think is endemic in our world. Recent research found that people who came from a higher social class were more likely to have overinflated opinions of their abilities, and thus were overconfident. Is that really anything new? Can any of us relate to the “elite” lawyer who pontificates and condescends to mere mortals? ?

We can all relate to the bloviating classmate who “aced” the bar exam, the associate colleague who thinks his motion for summary judgment will, of course, be granted (doesn’t that person know the odds?), and other examples too many to mention. Strangers who don’t know these people equate overconfidence with competence. (“Gee, he must be right. He sure talks like it.”) Wrong, wrong, wrong.

Just because you came from a “higher social class” and went to an elite law school doesn’t mean that your overconfidence is justified. It isn’t, and there’s nothing that we plebes like more than to see overconfidence taken down a peg or three. (I know that most of us secretly rejoice when one of these peeps gets a comeuppance, via benchslap or other ways.)

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One of the researchers quoted in the article said that if you have nothing to say, then just shut up and listen. Advice that should be taken more often and which many ATL columnists say regularly. It’s hard for overconfident people to STFU.

Remember newbies, when you are in a room surrounded by lawyers who have been practicing longer than you, the blowhards may be quoting chapter and verse of a case that no longer controls and you know it. Just because they think they know it doesn’t necessarily mean they do. Newbies are closer to changes in statutory and case law than us dinosaurs. Don’t let claims of busyness or someone’s overconfidence rattle your competence.


old lady lawyer elderly woman grandmother grandma laptop computerJill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.