On Being Busy

I have to say one of my biggest pet peeves is when you ask someone how they're doing and their response is "Busy" and they then proceed to tell you everything that is on their to-do list. Come on, seriously?? That's the best you can do? Everyone is busy! I don't know anyone who has reached their 20s who can say, "oh ya know not much, just sitting around watching a lot of HBO and eating pistachios". Can't we find anything better to say about our lives other than the craziness of work or home life? If we rephrase how we respond to this question, I think it allows people to perceive you as someone in control of their lives. Here would be my examples to someone's "How are You" question:

Crazy Response:
- Ahhh this baby is coming so soon and I have nothing prepared! I have so much to do in the next few months I have no idea how I'm going to get it all done, especially when I'm still working as much as I am!

Composed Response:
- We're so excited to meet our baby this Spring! There's definitely lots of prep work to get done, but my husband and family are being super supportive. I'm going to sign up for birthing and newborn classes so I can feel slightly less stressed out about the experience, so I'm anxious to see what I learn! We've also hired an assistant at the office so I can focus a little less on work.

Crazy Response:
- We are so busy at work building homes right now, and to top it all off, we need to build our own personal home so it's done shortly after the baby is born. I have no idea how we'll get it done in time!

Composed Response:
- We're really lucky at work right now. The economy seems to be making a turn for the better and we're so privileged to be building all the homes we have right now. I'm a little worried for how our home being built is going to play out in this, but I know if we focus on what needs to get done, we can do it.

Crazy Response:
- Being a real estate agent, office manager for 15 employees of a concrete company, marketing a home building company, operating a rental company, and being an interior decorator all while dealing with a crap ton of personal home life things is driving me crazy. Every day, I get into my office and don't know where to turn first. My desk looks like a bomb exploded every single day.

Composed Response:
- Work definitely keeps me on my toes, but I love never having to repeat the same day twice. Sure I'd like the ability to have one job and fewer responsibilities, but I chose to take them all on. Having all these roles has also given me an insanely well rounded experience I would never have gotten otherwise. Hopefully, once I have the baby I can step out of some of these roles to focus on being a mom, but we won't know how things will play out until the time is here!

See what I mean? Sure, the crazy responses are definitely true, but by looking at and speaking about them in a more positive manner, I think your outlook on it will translate that way. So go out there and prepare yourself for the next time someone asks, " How are you?"