Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much

by Tony Crabbe

Overview

Business psychologist Tony Crabbe outlines a unique three-step approach to combating one of the modern life's great problems: being too busy.
 
So many people feel far too busy—unable to work properly on the things that are important to them and stuck in a rut. This book, written by a well-connected business psychologist, puts that feeling in context and provides practical solutions for people to become happier, more motivated and more successful. If you want to take control of your career—and your life—make sure you're not too busy to read to this book.

Today's world is one of too much: too much work to do, too much communication, too much competition, too much uncertainty and too much information. We are striving to keep up, but inevitably we're falling behind, leaving us with a nagging sense of failure that is hard to shake off.

In Busy, Tony Crabbe debunks the myth that satisfaction at work comes from getting everything done.

Instead, he demonstrates that what will enable you to thrive is regaining a sense of mastery over your life, focusing on making an impact, engaging with loved ones and creating the momentum necessary to make changes.
 
Busy is divided into three digestible sections—Mastery, Differentiation, and Engagement—that will teach readers how to switch from managing time to managing attention, how to transition toward a career strategy that doesn't hinge on productivity, how to think differently about success by re-engaging with what matters, and how to create the impetus, energy, and clarity to put all these changes into effect. Crabbe draws on entertaining psychological studies to show why we're getting it wrong at the moment and to develop a fresh new approach to taking back one's life from chaotic outside forces.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781455532971
Publisher:	Grand Central Publishing
Publication date:	07/07/2015
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	595 KB

About the Author

Tony Crabbe is an organizational psychologist who works with multinational companies around the world, including PWC, Microsoft, News International, Disney, and the World Bank. He is also a research fellow in the field of organizational psychology at Birkbeck College, University of London. He lives with his family in Spain, but spends a considerable amount of time consulting in the UK and the US.

Table of Contents

Preface: Busting Busy xiii

Getting Started: Too Busy to Read This Book? xxvii

Section 1 Mastery

Chapter 1 Stop Managing Your Time! (…and Go Surfing) 3

Chapter 2 Make Choices (Fighting Fish and Terminal Consumption) 22

Chapter 3 Manage Attention (How to Use Our Blobby Tissue Better) 42

Chapter 4 Negotiate for Your Life (To Keep Those Missiles at Bay) 64

Section 2 Differentiation

Chapter 5 Stop Being So Productive! (Become More Strategic) 81

Chapter 6 Impact Through Innovation (Don't Be the Invisible Man) 103

Chapter 7 Busy Is a Terrible Brand (Develop a Better Brand) 116

Chapter 8 Walk Your Own Path (Fixing Radios by Thinking) 129

Section 3 Engagement

Chapter 9 Stop Striving for "More"! (Put Your Values First) 159

Chapter 10 Reconnect (Why We're Better Off with Fewer Friends) 179

Chapter 11 From Buzz to Joy (An Ode to Depth) 202

Chapter 12 Beyond Busy (Making Good Intentions Stick) 227

What I Have Learned 244

Other Books to Read 251

Notes 255

Index 269

Editorial Reviews

05/04/2015
Business psychologist Crabbe draws an amicably accessible blueprint for escaping a state of extreme activity. According to Crabbe, our lives have become increasingly cluttered thanks to technological and social advances. The concept of choice is key. As he writes, chronically busy people can choose to let go of the need to control every aspect of their lives and instead prioritize various aspects over others. Being busy is for Crabbe more construct than reality, and so changing a pattern of endless activity involves changes in thinking. The book’s format is itself somewhat busy: information is presented in small chunks, which can make for an interrupted reading experience. However, the content is more organized in the catchy summaries that conclude each chapter. A business focus becomes somewhat too important to Crabbe’s thesis, as if busy, overscheduled modern lives are necessarily attached to high-paying corporate jobs. Nevertheless, for anyone juggling an ever-expanding schedule in or outside the corporate world, this book might be worth fitting in. (July)

Publishers Weekly

"A life-changing book which reassesses what you are doing, why you are doing it and in what way."—Carol Ann Rice, The Daily Express

"This book has the power to change your life. In this thought provoking guidebook to today's world of "too much", Tony Crabbe destroys the myth of "busyness" and provides practical, thoughtful advice to help individuals (and their organizations) unleash their true potential."
—Dave Coplin, Chief Envisioning Officer, Microsoft UK and author of Business Reimagined

Crabbe presents an array of techniques and tactics to help readers relinquish their busyness and gain control of their lives. Written in short sections with graphical breaks, pullouts and bullet points, BUSY is a very smart, fun and enlightening read.—Success Magazine

"Sound advice, well worth consideration and action."
—Booklist

"For anyone juggling an ever-expanding schedule in or outside the corporate world, this book might be worth fitting in."
—Publishers Weekly

"If you ever feel like you're drowning in a sea of over commitment, organizational psychologist Tony Crabbe throws you a lifeline with BUSY."—Working Mother

"In BUSY, organizational psychologist Tony Crabbe draws on solid psychological research to address one of the great problems of modern life: we're too busy."—Networking Times

"[In BUSY] psychological and business research are translated into practical tools and skills."—Ugly Research Newsletter

"Crabbe draws on entertaining psychological studies to show why we're getting it wrong at the moment and to develop a fresh new approach to taking back one's life from chaotic outside forces."—IN Business Magazine

"The statistics Crabbe cites are truly staggering."—National Post

From the Publisher