{"id":8862,"date":"2020-05-13T07:00:58","date_gmt":"2020-05-13T06:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=8862"},"modified":"2020-04-28T11:03:34","modified_gmt":"2020-04-28T10:03:34","slug":"business-of-busyness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/business-of-busyness\/","title":{"rendered":"Business of Busyness"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I was reading in the news that the UK government are expecting many of us to abandon long distance travelling and overseas meetings for online ones. In the wake of the virus and people emerging from lockdown there will be many changes to the way \u2018life\u2019 has been done.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With an expected 20% reduction on public transport, things are definitely changing.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As people, me included, have been forced to stop travelling and switch over instead to online meetings, the landscape for now at least is vastly different.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that for me, one of my perspectives that has changed is the relentless wheel of busyness. As a father of 3 with a fulltime job and a wife that lives with a disability our lives have always felt busy and I find I\u2019m dealing with moments on the hoof all the time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think that keeping us all busy is also a business that does very well for itself and keeps you and I running at breakneck speed.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Cars for example are subtly changed every 6 months to make the model you have out of date and the new one desirable. Keep working, keep busy you need this new model, right? As I have travelled in London on the tube there are posters everywhere that say things like \u2018tired of being tired? All you need is this 100% caffeine shot to get the most from your day!\u2019\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>No, what you need is to realise there is a business here that needs you to buy in and break yourself trying to keep up.&nbsp;&nbsp;I have been talking to more and more people recently about this and all are saying that they are now seeing how valuable a real work life balance is. This time of lockdown, I think, is helping us unplug from the matrix of the busyness machine and breathe.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The point of this is, so many of us are forging new rhythms here in our work life, family and how this is fed and prioritised by our faith in Jesus as we adjust to the new \u2018normal.\u2019 My challenge for you here is what will your response be? Have you been plugged into the machine of \u2018busyness?\u2019 What will you do now?\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@carlheyerdahl?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Carl Heyerdahl<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/work-life-balance?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"linkwithin_hook\" id=\"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/business-of-busyness\/\"><\/div><script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png?w=750\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I was reading in the news that the UK government are expecting many of us to abandon long distance travelling and overseas meetings for online ones. In the wake of the virus and people emerging from lockdown there will be many changes to the way \u2018life\u2019 has been done.\u00a0 With an expected 20% reduction on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<script>\n<!-- \/\/LinkWithinCodeStart\nvar linkwithin_site_id = 897245;\nvar linkwithin_div_class = \"linkwithin_hook\";\n\/\/LinkWithinCodeEnd -->\n<\/script>\n<script src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/widget.js\"><\/script>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/\"><img src=\"http:\/\/www.linkwithin.com\/pixel.png\" alt=\"Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...\" style=\"border: 0\" \/><\/a>","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":8867,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[360,1039,583,204],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/carl-heyerdahl-KE0nC8-58MQ-unsplash.jpg?fit=2400%2C1600&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7PoLK-2iW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6061,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/keeping-busy\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":0},"title":"Keeping Busy?","date":"14 April 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I absolutely love stock car racing, it\u2019s my favourite motorsport and every opportunity I get I head off to the Racewall in Cowdenbeath. However, my ultimate goal is to visit Daytona for the NASCAR Daytona 500 race. NASCAR racing is where a bunch of men and one woman drive really\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/04\/keeping-busy.jpg?fit=600%2C411&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2464,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/are-you-being-served\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":1},"title":"Are you being served?","date":"12 April 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. James 1:22 \u00a0Are you listening, are you acting? The challenging words above from Jesus' brother are unequivocal. They call for us not only to open our ears and pay attention to the preacher or teacher,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/CVM-50plus-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7208,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/painting-with-the-hair-from-a-flies-back\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":2},"title":"Painting with the hair from a flies back.","date":"25 October 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"So I discovered on YouTube recently this bloke, Willard Wiggins. Wiggins makes pieces of artwork that are inside the eye of a needle, stuff so small that he works with a microscope to work his art. To give you an idea, Wiggins once made an elephant sculpture from a grain\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/team-CVM-blog-640x360.jpg?fit=640%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2088,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/50plus\/mission-possible\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":3},"title":"Mission Possible","date":"26 January 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"If you want to walk on water you\u2019ve got to get out of the boat! - John Ortberg Don\u2019t we just love to stay within our comfort zones, hiding behind our busyness and (over) commitments. I know I\u2019m as guilty as the next man.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;50 Plus&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":8790,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/discovering-the-rhythms-of-grace\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":4},"title":"Discovering the Rhythms of Grace&#8230;","date":"25 March 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Life is just so busy, and we all make it so much busier simply by trying to become successful. I have lost count of both the number of years and the number of times that I have spoken to friends and colleagues about the need to live a life of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/bloke.jpg?fit=730%2C300&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8848,"url":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/samurais-on-shelves\/","url_meta":{"origin":8862,"position":5},"title":"Samurai\u2019s on Shelves","date":"6 May 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"So before lockdown kicked in and life changed, I was driving home from a CVM meeting and my phone pinged to let me know I had some messages coming in. At the next opportunity I pulled over to take a look and discovered a mate of mine had sent me\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Team CVM&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/04\/samurai-sword-2-1483361.jpg?fit=1200%2C902&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8862"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8868,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8862\/revisions\/8868"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8867"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8862"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8862"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8862"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}