For more than a year I’ve been working to eliminate the word busy from my vocabulary. (More on that here. )

Tonight I thought of a new alternative to busy: overprogrammed. When looking at calendar with no breaks over a ten hour period I was tempted to say, I’m busy. Instead, I opted for tomorrow is overprogrammed.

Too many scheduled things for me and my energy level and what I can reasonably expect to bring my best self too.

This is why alternatives to busy are great. Whereas busy rolls off the tongue reflexively and without a great deal of inquiry, alternative words force specificity and invite change.

Here’s to a less programmed Tuesday.