cover image Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much

Busy: How to Thrive in a World of Too Much

Tony Crabbe. Grand Central, $31 (320p) ISBN 978-1-4555-3298-8

Business psychologist Crabbe draws an amicably accessible blueprint for escaping a state of extreme activity. According to Crabbe, our lives have become increasingly cluttered thanks to technological and social advances. The concept of choice is key. As he writes, chronically busy people can choose to let go of the need to control every aspect of their lives and instead prioritize various aspects over others. Being busy is for Crabbe more construct than reality, and so changing a pattern of endless activity involves changes in thinking. The book’s format is itself somewhat busy: information is presented in small chunks, which can make for an interrupted reading experience. However, the content is more organized in the catchy summaries that conclude each chapter. A business focus becomes somewhat too important to Crabbe’s thesis, as if busy, overscheduled modern lives are necessarily attached to high-paying corporate jobs. Nevertheless, for anyone juggling an ever-expanding schedule in or outside the corporate world, this book might be worth fitting in.[em] (July) [/em]