• Do you feel like your to-do list gets longer each day?
• Do you feel like your relationships are taking second place to your work obligations?
• If you were suddenly granted some free time, would you use it to get chores or work done?
• Do your family members complain that you are too busy?
• Is your spiritual life suffering because you don’t have time to read the Bible or pray?
• Are you constantly tired because you are not getting enough sleep at night?
• Have you neglected all of your interests or hobbies because you don’t have time for them anymore?

If you feel that you are struggling in any of these areas, than you need to read the book, Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book About a (Really) Big Problem by Kevin DeYoung.

Are you crazy busy?

Kevin DeYoung tackles the problem of busyness by examining the motives and priorities that lead to crazy busyness. He also encourages us to take a serious look at what the Bible says about busyness.

Could it be that our busyness is a symptom of pride? Our culture takes pride in being extremely busy, because we equate busyness with importance.

Could it be that our busyness is a symptom of trying to play “God”? Do we trust God enough to take periods of rest, or do we really believe that it is essential that we do everything? Are we convinced that if we slow down, the world will fall apart? Are we doing more than God has called us to do?

More Thoughts on Busyness from the book, Crazy Busy:

Here are some of the ideas from Crazy Busy that really resonated with me:

Are we unnecessarily crazy busy because we are idolizing our children? Are our lives revolving around giving our children every experience and every advantage that life can possibly offer? Is this crazy busy lifestyle really in the best interests of our children?

Technology can be a huge time waster. Could we be crazy busy because we are spending too much time parked in front of a computer screen looking at social media or gathering “information”?

Are we pursuing rhythms of work and rest in our lives, or are we combining work and rest to such an extent that we don’t have any rhythms to our lives at all? Is it healthy to check social media at work, to check work e-mails at home, and to treat Sunday as a “catch-up-on-our-chores” day rather than a day of rest? Or, have we designated times of our days and weeks to work and to rest?

Are we living as though busyness is something that should be avoided at all costs? Do we realize that busyness is a natural part of productive, serving lives?

Finally, are we using our time to do the most important thing – develop a relationship with God?

I love Kevin DeYoung’s tone in this book. He freely admits that overcommitting and excessive busyness are things that he himself struggles with on a daily basis. He writes about these problems with humor and honesty as he encourages us to evaluate our own “crazy busy” lives.