Are we Busy Or Active?
I’m writing this on my phone, slouched next to my backpack in the backseat of Bus 4 on the LA Metro.
A woman with a blanket over her head is sleeping against the window two seats over from me.
We’re passing through Hollywood now, rolling towards downtown and my day job.
My day job isn’t the beginning of my workday, though.
I’ve been up since 5:15am so that I could shower, shave, journal, meditate, walk the dogs, eat breakfast, and squeeze in an hour of UX design work before leaving for the next 10 hours.
I’m pursuing UX design as a vocation.
I’m running after that job while working another, though.
I’ve had some success gaining freelance clients, but trying to find the time to work for them is more an act of manufacturing than discovery.
By that I mean I’m making the time to design. Spare time doesn’t really exist for me these days.
Sometimes, that sucks.
My day job the past few weeks has been training a group of bartenders to open a restaurant in Venice Beach — A location that’s a whole hell of a lot closer to where I live on the west side of LA than Downtown.
While we train downtown, though, I’ve been enjoying 1+ hour commutes both ways.
I use the time for reading, sketching flows, contacting potential clients/employers, and general correspondence.
Then I work as a hospitality professional.
At lunch I sometimes have Zoom meetings for freelance work.
When I get home, I have time for dinner, the gym, walking the dogs again, quality time with my fiancée, and then…
I try to squeeze in another hour of freelance work.
It can feel incredibly busy. I would say that right now, I am very busy.
Or at least, last week, I’d say that.
This week, during one of our training sessions with the bar team, our global director asked everyone:
“Would you rather be busy or active?”
He was talking about how we function during service, but — Like most principles of good hospitality — The philosophy behind the question applies to all of life.
“Busy is messy. Busy is frantic. Busy is out of control. Busy is usually considered a bad thing.” He continued. “Active is engaged. Active makes things happen. Active is taking responsibility for how you can affect the moment. Active is usually considered a good thing.”
Changing the narrative is powerful. If nothing else, swapping those words in my internal monologue makes me feel more positive.
My schedule is still full.
I still wish I had more time to practice design.
I wish I didn’t have to carve out the time I do have.
I’m moving forward, though, little by little. Switching careers in your late twenties can take a lot of effort.
It requires tons of action.
I guess it’s a good thing I’m so active.
