Today, one of my friends shared the following article about the common tendency to complain about how busy one is.

Please stop complaining about how busy you are.

I think that it’s fair to say that the majority of academics have a great deal of work that they must accomplish week by week.  With a series of rapid deadlines always fast-approaching, it’s often difficult to accomplish everything that needs accomplishing without turning down social engagements here and there.

However, as the author states, our complaining about these difficulties often separates us from friends and family members who may feel the need to compete with us in this domain, and we certainly do them no favors by making them, even indirectly, feel guilty that they are not similarly overwhelmed.  Similarly, there are times when we will have less on our plates, and it does us no good to continue to struggle for the sake of seeming busy to others.

Just some food for thought for the beginning of another busy academic year…