As adult, professional Americans, we’re conditioned to believe that “busy” and “successful” are synonymous concepts. However, in recent years, the rise of the wellness movement led to a widespread re-think of that idea, thanks to its emphasis on downtime and the value of self-care without a productivity-related agenda.
While we at Fairygodboss thoroughly believe in balancing our busy times with much-needed relaxation, the Harvard Business Review recently shed some new light on the mental state of “being busy”, suggesting that these thought processes can have unexpected benefits. Specifically, HBR claims that busy people often make healthier choices in terms of nutrition and exercise than those with fewer activities to occupy their time.
Wondering how busyness and healthy decision-making coexist? Consider the Marshmallow Experiment, a legendary psychological test administered by Stanford University in the early 1970s. In this study, scientists offered a group of children a choice: they could either receive one marshmallow and eat it immediately, or they could wait for a brief period and then receive two marshmallows. The scientists then followed up with the kids years later, and they discovered that the children who chose to delay gratification and receive a larger reward did better in school and ultimately pursued higher-paying jobs than the kids who ate their one marshmallow right away. The ability to resist a quick and easy form of pleasure in order to find something more fulfilling is a strong predictor of one’s capacity for success.