PEDESTRIAN.TV has partnered with Victoria University to give you insights into why your busiest you is your best you. It ain’t too late to get into uni and live the life you want to lead – even if that means forcefully entering the Avatar State in order to juggle a million things. Find out why VU can help you succeed, whenever you want to start, by heading to their website HERE.
Stretch your mind back to when you were studying (or ponder on the present if you’re still on that tertiary hustle). Remember those periods when you were juggling tasks on a Cirque du Soleil level? It wasn’t humanly possible to finish those four assignments, study for your exams, and work 25-odd hours on top of that – and yet, you still pulled it off.
Sure, the exhaustion might have been debilitating, but god it felt good, didn’t it? Albeit it in a masochist, “WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF?” kinda way. We’d have no qualms calling you a liar if you said that hitting the submit button on the semester’s last assignment didn’t induce a euphoric sensation on par with an orgasm.
Regardless of whether it’s caused by study, work or life in general – your busiest you is your best you.
Why doe??
Simply put, we’re happier when we’re busy, and when we’re happy, we’re more efficient (i.e. able to exhibit superhuman qualities that allow us to get nek-level amounts of work done).
BUT HANG ON A SECOND, AREN’T WE HAPPIER WHEN WE’RE NOT BUSY? ISN’T THE DREAM TO, Y’KNOW, LIE ON A BEACH SIPPING MOJITOS ALL DAY????
Apparently not.
The findings of the 2015 Future Leaders Index – a series of three White Papers that took “a unique look into the lives of a 18-29 year olds today” – shows that we’re kind of all about being being busy.
61% of the 5,000+ people surveyed reported that they “like being very busy,” suggesting a large chunk of us are kinda / sorta able to get off on being frantic.
Additionally, when we’re busy, the actions that are causing the state of busyness (work and study) are the last thing we’ll let “suffer” (suffer, in this context, meaning negatively impacted). Participants were allowed to say more than one area of their lives suffered because of being busy.
82% of those surveyed said their physical health suffered because of being busy, and 77% said their social / personal time suffered because of being busy.
However, only 52% said their study suffered when busy, and only 28% reckon their work suffered when busy – much smaller than the above.
It could be argued that most of us are prepared to throw the traditional pillars of happiness (that of physical wellbeing and personal time) under the bus rather than study or work (the traditional pillars of stress / unhappiness) because we find more fulfilment + happiness from being busy than working out or chilling out. WHO WOULDA THUNK IT?!
Recent research published in Psychological Science titled Idleness Aversion and the Need for Justifiable Busyness supports this idea.
The research played out as follows:
- Uni students were asked to take multiple surveys about their campuses.
- When they’d wrapped up the first survey, students were given the option to either submit the survey where they’d completed it / where they’d complete the next survey, or waste time (i.e. keep busy) by submitting it to a place that was a 15 minute walk away.
- To ensure they dropped it off at either location, they were told they’d receive a chocolate bar, because chocolate.
As you’d imagine, most people opted to drop their first survey at the closer location. What was interesting, however, was that those that wasted time by walking reported feeling substantially happier after the assessment than those who remained idle.
The next part of the researched was conducted as follows:
- Students were asked if they prefer milk chocolate or dark chocolate and the testing pool showed there wasn’t a large preference for either.
- Milk chocolate was offered at the closest survey drop-off point, and dark chocolate at the further away one.
Even though the participants were eh about what sweet, sweet can-day they wanted, more chose the further away location. Just as it was the case in the previous study, those who kept themselves busy by walking reported a more *thumbs up* experience.
The research confirmed something that’s obvious: We’re not going to do something that serves no purpose. But what’s interesting is that we’ll likely jump on something if we’re given even the smallest justification to do so (e.g. opting for dark chocolate over milk when you don’t have a preference either way), suggesting we’re inclined to keep ourselves busy as a means to be happier.
It’s important to note that excessive busyness will harm you in the long-run. There’s no doubt you’ll be stressed to some degree, and stress can cause a whole host of physical or mental health issues. Be sure to check yo’self before you wreck yo’self by balancing the state of euphoria you’re achieving though busyness with much needed R&R to recharge your batteries.
On the topic of being overly busy, are you thinking about heading back to uni but concerned you won’t be able to juggle errythang? Well, considering your busiest you is your best you, it’s time to flip those concerns the bird.
Victoria University’s got you covered on all course fronts, including: Law, business, science, engineering and music. Check out their stellar course range / read up on why you should enrol mid-year by heading HERE.
Feel free to stay connected with Victoria University’s latest updates by following them on Facebook (HERE), Twitter (HERE) and Instagram (HERE).
Photo: Sony Pictures Classics / Blue Jasmine.
