Why Are We So Busy?

Brigid Schulte appeared on WYPR, the NPR station in Baltimore, talking about the Cult of Busyness and overwork culture:

How are you? Ask most anyone, and the answer you’ll get is busy. We are nation starved for free time. Many of us live in a state of perpetual motion, bouncing from one obligation to the next: Work, childcare, grocery shopping, cooking, bills, laundry, more work. It’s hard to find time for sleep, let alone that forgotten indulgence, leisure. And in some circles, being busy has become a badge of honor. How did we get here? Is public policy to blame or are we bringing this on ourselves? How much of our busyness is in our heads? And what can we do to find peace? 
Our guests: Brigid Schulte, author of “Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time,” and John de Graaf, documentary filmmaker and executive director of the organization, Take Back Your Time.