I’ve been reflecting on an extraordinary 2016 – yes I’m a little late, maybe this really should have been a pre xmas blog. It’s true, it should have been but for my self imposed work ban in December. Having worked as much work as I could throughout Jan to November, I planned into my diary a work embargo for December – it seemed fitting to down tools in a month which offered the opportunity to get ahead on all things festive and enjoy the bliss of not working with a hangover from all the parties.

If I had a crystal ball in my employed days, that told me one day I would be able to sanction such indulgencies, I don’t think I could have coped with the sheer anticipation and joy, and it is true that I made the most of the month, but what I wasn’t prepared for, mid way through December was a longing, even an aching to just get back to work – it had been too long.

So what’s that all about? Yearning to lay off the pace and slow everything down, only to want to speed it all up again? You see, there’s something very paradoxical about time and happiness. I convince myself that I need to slow down, work a little less, savour the moment a little more, give myself time to make considered choices rather than making them under pressure, yet given this opportunity, particularly in December, this additional time felt more like a void that needed to be filled with pace, excitement, creativity, work!

There’s a lot of thought out there currently that suggests being busy just isn’t cool anymore, that workaholics belong in a previous century, certainly not this one – And it’s not just current thought leaders suggesting we need to lay off the pace, Socrates himself prophesized this with “beware the baronness of a busy life” and this is supported by scientific research that suggests multitasking can reduce our productivity by upto 25%.

I must add, I have never been a workaholic, but being busy – that I do love. The feeling of just making it in time to the school run because I’ve managed to cram so much into the day upto that point seems like the perfect balance to me. But is it really?

Researchers from the University of Chicago can help. They found that the belief that busyness is a sign of success and hard work is so prevalent that we actually fear inactivity. A recent study there coined the term idleness aversion to describe how people are drawn to being busy regardless of how busyness harms their productivity.

Alas, I don’t think I’ll ever really lay of the pace too much, I want to collapse on my sofa at the end of the day and feel I have squeezed out every last drop the day can offer, but reflecting on December, where I had the opportunity to slow down, I maybe missed an opportunity of holding just one thing in my head at a time – maybe squeezing out every last drop that one thought can offer is more powerful, more productive than squeezing the life out of a day?

I’ll give it a go, just as soon as I’ve put these juggling balls down….