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10 April 2026 3 minutes read
busyness

“Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” — Socrates

“If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” — Lao Tzu

“Working hard for a long time without checking what the better things to be working on are is a hidden form of laziness. A laziness that disguises itself as something to be proud of.” — Julian Shapiro

“Busyness is no different from laziness when it doesn’t lead you to accomplish anything.” — [@baileyProductivityProjectAccomplishing2016]

“I’m about to make a wild, extreme and severe relationship rule: the word busy is a load of crap and is most often used by assholes. The word “busy” is the relationship Weapon of Mass Destruction. Remember: men are never too busy to get what they want.” — Greg Behrendt, He’s Just Not That Into You: The No-Excuses Truth to Understanding Guys


Perpetual Busyness: We’re in the midst of a global busyness crisis

  • The Busy Trap = The Rat Race — A treadmill to nowhere
    • = 瞎忙 = 窮忙 = 假勤奮 = 偽生產力 1
  • Often, we found there was a lot of movement, but no forward progress (like a “Rocking Horse” — always moving, but never going anywhere). 2
  • 有時候,我們會覺得自己很忙,好像做了很多事,卻根本沒做出什麼明顯的成績。有行動,卻沒有成果。辛苦了老半天,結果卻回到原點,開始時和結束時的狀態都差不多,沒什麼進展。這正是 「效率 (Efficient) 」與「效能 (Effective) 」 的關鍵區別。兩者看似相近,實則大不相同 — 如果方向錯了,即使做得再好,也只是徒勞無功。
  • Action: Break the busyness cycle. Don’t fall into “The Efficiency Trap.”

The Red Queen Effect


“Being In Motion vs Taking Action” by James Clear

“Never mistake activity for achievement.” — John Wooden

  • You gain clarity through motion, but don’t mistake motion with action. Beware of false progress.

Don’t confuse being busy with being productive.

I work harder, but you’re busier.


The most invisible form of wasted time is doing a good job on an unimportant task.


Rule: Boredom > Busyness


Scarcity creates a mindset that perpetuates scarcity


What you work on is far more important than how productively you work

Footnotes

  1. Hard work is a secret form of procrastination or laziness due to a misallocation of time and energy.

  2. Rocking Horse (搖搖馬) ↔ Carousel/Merry-Go-Round (旋轉木馬)

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© 2026 Hua-Ming Huang · licensed under CC BY 4.0