‘busy’; an absurd and distorted badge of honour we feel compelled to blurt out when people ask how we are. ‘Busy’ is not a synonym for useful, valuable, intentional, focused or productive. It’s basically (for some weird reason) socially acceptable shorthand for ‘I’m spinning a thousand plates - but who knows why’. If you want to answer a question with ‘I’m busy’; try harder. Try; ‘I’m really focused on x’ or ‘I’m being intentional with y’ or ‘actually, I’m feeling pretty balanced and poised right now’. If somebody tells you they are busy, gently provoke them with ‘to what end’ or ‘in service of what’. I’m not sure when ‘busy’ became a universal answer AND a weird badge of honour, but leaders can get deeper than ‘busy’.