People Who Always Talk About How Busy They Are Often Use 6 Phrases That Actually Make Them Sound Incompetent
DiPres | Shutterstock Everyone is busy, but most people don't talk about it constantly. That's probably because they realize that people who only seem to complain about their schedules sound pretty incompetent.
A laundry list of all the chores you need to get done is probably one of the least interesting things you can bring up in a conversation. It doesn't make someone look successful or important. That's because managing your responsibilities without constantly announcing how much you have on your plate is way more impressive. If you find yourself using these phrases all the time, it might be worth thinking about what they actually communicate to the people around you.
Phrases people who brag about being busy use that only make them sound incompetent:
1. 'I have too much going on right now'
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There's always going to be something going on in your life, whether it's a busy week at work or something unexpected that throws off your schedule. That's just part of being human. But if you constantly tell people you have too much going on whenever they ask you to do something, you can start to get a bad rep.
Sometimes, being busy really does mean you need to say no. There's nothing wrong with that. The problem is when you use it as an excuse. If you're always telling people you have too much going on, they might start to see you as someone who is unreliable and flaky.
2. 'I'm always sleeping at the office'
The grind mindset tells us to work harder and sacrifice our free time if we want to be successful. But if it gets to the point where you need an inflatable mattress in your office, or worse, your company has sleep pods so you never have to leave, it may signal something isn't working.
If you regularly have to sleep at work to keep up with your responsibilities, are you maybe taking on too much? Are you convincing yourself that exhaustion is the price of success? Being tired doesn't automatically mean you're productive, and working longer hours doesn't necessarily mean you're doing better work.
3. 'I literally have no time for anything'
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This is just an excuse, and everyone knows it. Adding the word "literally" before an exaggeration doesn't make it any more convincing.
When someone says this phrase, they're usually doing one of two things: complaining about some aspect of their life or using their busy schedule to excuse themselves from responsibilities they haven't managed to get done. If you're always drowning in work, people might start wondering whether the problem is your workload or how you're organizing your time.
4. 'Nobody reminded me'
People who are constantly busy often forget tasks on their lists. If you need someone to always remind you about what you're supposed to be doing, then it might be time to buy a planner.
If you truly do tend to forget your tasks, then it's your job to figure that out. You shouldn't put the blame on others. Set reminders on your phone or write things down. Find a system that works for you.
5. 'I work better under pressure'
Hearing this phrase makes me want to remind people that their career isn't the same thing as an eighth-grade baseball game where they're up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, two outs on the board, and the game riding on whether they can hit a home run. Seriously, Todd? You're 47 and work in insurance.
There's a difference between feeling more focused when a deadline is approaching and deliberately putting things off until the last minute. Some people genuinely work well with a deadline in sight, but consistently relying on last-minute pressure isn't exactly a reliable strategy.
6. 'I’m just gonna wing it'
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Okay, so I'm sure we've all had to wing it at some point in our lives. I know I have. I'm not saying that people who say this are automatically incompetent, but when someone constantly complains about how busy they are and then turns around and says this, it can make them look unprepared. It's almost like they didn't take the time to figure out what they were doing beforehand.
You might think you're communicating that you have so much going on because you're just that important, but what people actually hear is that you haven't prepared or don't know what you're doing. Being busy isn't an excuse for being unprepared, and sometimes, a little planning goes a lot further than winging it ever will.
Julia McNulty is a writer with a Master’s degree in Literary & Cultural Studies who specializes in lifestyle, relationship, culture, and human interest topics.
