Tim Kreider The Busy Trap Analysis

In the article “ The Busy Trap” Kreider tries to convince readers to chose time over money. He makes numerous points including how boasting about busyness takes the form of a complaint. He insults those who voluntarily take on obligations by remarking that they are obsessed with always being occupied. However, the basis for such a conclusion is founded on only a few examples of individuals who were negatively affected by the burden of work. In Kreider’s opinion it is wasteful to be busy all the time because life is too short to work more than 5 hours per day and not spend enough time in one’s happy place. What is your happy place? Picture it and stay there for a while letting your thoughts flow. Notice that your thinking becomes more positive and somewhat out of reach. Next, imagine a life with minimal stress that includes little to no work and much enjoyment; now you 're floating back to reality because that type of life is not in the grasps of most. Similarly, Kreider writes his article as if most people have plenty of time to waste, and to enjoy themselves, as he has. Kreider’s overall point that people keep themselves busy to escape the feelings of emptiness is both ignorant and a reflection of his narrow perspective of the world. His opinion that people feel apprehensive when not working, along with the fact that most people wouldn’t be content living the lifestyle Kreider is promoting, plus his support towards the propositions of full unemployment and a

In “The Multitasking Generation”, Claudia Wallis provides key points on the difference between Generation M and Multitasking. Wallis also challenges the idea that by multitasking, things get done. In the first part of the essay Wallis provides information on a family living in California. A man and a woman with twins, one girl and one boy. Wallis observes that most of the time spent at home by the children is on a computer with music blaring and chatting with friends on their cell phones. Wallis states, “By all standard space-time calculations, the four members of the family occupy the same three-bedroom home in Van Nuys, California…, but psychologically each exists in his or her own little universe.”(385-386) In today’s world, “That level

Life today is very fast-paced. Everyone is in a hurry to get somewhere and will push you out of the way to get there, like it's some kind of race. In our personal lives, we have our cell phones, and maybe a home phone, scheduled play dates for our kids, microwaves, satellite TV, home security systems that don't involve dogs, solar landscape lighting, automatic underground sprinkler systems for our lawns, and compact fluorescent lights to replace the incandescent bulbs that waste energy. In the business world, you have meetings that you can attend by using a video phone, PowerPoint presentations to help you get your point across at the meetings you can't get out of, instant messaging to speak to clients and other businesses around the

Nowadays, it seems that we are too busy making a living that we tend to forget how to make a meaningful life. We are all dreaming of some magical things will happen instead of enjoying a beautiful little thing happens around us. The main thing is we don’t know if we will wake up tomorrow when we go to sleep tonight. Therefore, rather than hardly put off a living, reminds ourselves to enjoy every minute of our live as if it is the last minute. Denise Levertov, the author of the poem “Living”, illustrates the philosophy of living a simple life is to live entirely in the present without thinking about what will happen next in the future. The reason for that philosophy is because happiness is not what you have but how you feel toward what you have and how you accept it.

O’Toole states: “It has been said that Americans are increasingly overworked.” Is to discuss whether social network type evaluations aid or hinder the overworked American.

In Alain de Botton’s essay, “On Habit” and Adam Gopnik essay, “Bumping into Mr. Ravioli” explain the way that individuals can think creatively and express their feelings and thoughts into newer meaning and in-depth ideas. They also explain the way that the human race are so engaged in technology and busyness that they are overlooking what really is important to them in their life. De Botton is worried that many people do not go beyond limitations and need to explore their surrounding more and appreciate what is going on around them. He urges people to use their ‘traveling mindset’ and try to approach their environments in a positive

What if we stopped celebrating being busy as a matter of importance? Would one make the relation that running errands has the result of the building of character? Would it be agreed upon that constant correspondence to our peers draws us nearer to our goals? Throughout our history humans have developed an undeniable connection between the fulness of one's schedule and the matter of importance they hold in a society. However, with the uniqueness and the complexity of the human mind, does one really need to be occupied in order to progress? In order to continue to effectively grow and progress, we must abandon the futile connection that being busy is directly related to the matter of a person's importance.

Workaholism is a disorder that has ruined the lives of many individuals. The need to work can over shadow and dominate a person. Workaholism is a disorders that is driven by the person themselves. Shifron (1999) writes that the disorder itself not only dramatically affects the person but “also negatively affects the individual’s entire family system and society. This disorder dramatically takes a toll on the person’s mental and physical ability to deal with everyday reality. A workaholic may even fantasize about work during leisure time and family events (Snir, 2008). To a workaholic their drive to work is viewed as a gift or luxury to their loved ones. But in reality working is an escape from the problems, hardships, and insecurities a workaholic has. In this article workaholism is shown as a disorder that can easily ruin lives ranging from the workaholic to those in close proximity. Workaholism can easily be noticed and employers should take the necessary steps to help a workaholic out of their habits. Plotrowski and Vondanovich (2008) suggest that employers “encourage workaholics to participate in counseling.”

The United States is commonly known as “No-Vacation Nation” (Thompson, 2012) because Americans typically prioritize work over studies and family. (1)Although people in America take fewer vacations than any nation in the world, socioeconomics may be a reason for why employees focus more on work than research and relationships in the American culture. "There is simply no evidence that working people to death gives you a competitive advantage" (Pawlowski, 2011). (2)As a citizen of the United States and one who has often fallen prey to these ideals, the trend to overwork has been an affliction to overcome. Family and scholarly efforts have been sacrificed, but over the past year or two, I have made a conscious effort to alter my “live to work”

After reading The ‘Busy’ Trap by Tim Kreider I was instantly connected to it because I used to be very busy, but today I enjoy the silence of being less busy. I like the fact that Kreider says being busy is not necessary and is not something to be proud of. I found that my first in class essay was rushed and I found that I was not as well prepared as I should have been. I could have written more information on my essay outline to save valuable time during the writing class. I think this was a good learning experience to be better prepared for the next in class essay.

This leads into the final point Carr makes in chapter one that automation is changing society’s perception of work and leisure. Many people would agree that work is not pleasurable and humans like leisure. However, Carr argues that, “thanks to our bias for leisure over work, ease over effort, we overestimate automation’s benefits” (19). Not only does he argue at the end of the chapter that most people are searching for a blend of life and work, but also he argues that people actually enjoy work over leisure because of the sense of accomplishment and productivity they feel afterwards. Carr argues that we overestimate the benefits of technology, when it may not even be what we really want as human beings. Furthermore, the his skeptical beliefs regarding automation, tacit knowledge, and work versus leisure are central to his argument throughout this entire book.

In 1989, Stephen Covey's book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People started a landmark revolution in how we think about time and life management. In this book, Covey presents seven principles for developing effectiveness in our private and public lives. By developing these habits, one moves from being dependent on other people to being and acting independently. Then we learn how to move to the more advanced state of interdependence and successful Cooperation. As a part of the seven habits. Covey introduces important and powerful techniques of time management under the habit of "Put First Things First." It is necessary to understand (and Practice) all seven habits so that the

Why did I choose to write about workaholics? The main reason is that the general picture about these people is bad, but there are a lot of them around us and very often we admire them. They are doing exactly what they love – work – and they can never have enough of it. Although they spend most of their time working, surprisingly they are happy. They show so good results in what they do. But the consequences are great. Family life is disrupted, intellectual horizons narrow and the consequences to the workaholic's health are severe: fat, lack of exercise and stress. Why do people become workaholics? When a person becomes workaholic is there a way back? How should people around him act in order to keep both him and themselves

Multitasking is becoming very significant on the workplace to complete the task in less time. In fact, some people believe that multitasking saves time and can be done at all together. On the other hand, some people think that it is a distracting activity which leads to a lack of concentration. According to David Silverman, “In Defense of Multitasking”, multitasking is “crucial to survival in today’s workplace” (522). However, I do not agree because multitasking reduces productivity, increases stress levels and it is, especially, problematic for students.

An inability to control that choice becomes, in this view, simply a personal failing. But while it's true that, in the end, we're all responsible for how we spend our time, it's an oversimplification to argue that we're free "to choose" whether and how we use computers and cell phones, as if social norms, job expectations, familial responsibilities, and other external pressures had nothing to do with it (Car 2010).”