‘Gettin’ (Un) Busy’ is FWKCC Speaker Series
Farragut West Knox Chamber of Commerce will present how people can find ways to unburden themselves of too many commitments so they have less stress, the subject at its upcoming Breakfast Speaker Series online webinar, “Gettin’ (Un) Busy.”
The event, scheduled to take place from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m., Tuesday, Feb. 2, will feature author Dr. Garland Vance, who will share insights from his book, “Getting’ (Un) Busy: Five Steps to Kill Busyness and Live with Purpose, Productivity and Peace.”
Sponsored by Town of Farragut, Knox County government and farragutpress, the event is included and no extra charge for current Chamber members and their employees. There is a $10 charge for non-members.
Register for the Breakfast Speaker Series by visiting the Chamber’s website, farragutchamber.com, going to the Events menu and clicking on the event.
“We’ve talked to Dr. Vance about donating a portion of the funds to a charity of his choice,” FWKCC president/CEO Julie Blaylock said.
“The Board’s job, among its many roles, is to be those convenors of resources and connectors, just like the Chamber is, so the board is constantly connecting us with potential speaker opportunities,” she added, noting one of the board’s members, Natasha Bohannon, was acquainted with Vance through her work at First Citizens Bank.
“She thought that his topic and his personality would be a perfect fit for our Breakfast Speaker Series.”
After connecting with Vance, Blaylock agreed.“Within that 30-minute phone call, I was completely impressed,” she said. “Dr. Vance is just so affable and so energetic.
“I loved the topic, especially considering what all of us have gone through this past year in 2020, and how 2021 is still going to present a lot of opportunities — but also challenges,” she added.
Blaylock noted how people relate being busy as good, but added, “There is something called too much of a good thing. Oftentimes, (busy) means that we’re over-committed, we are over-stressed, we are lacking in sleep, lacking in nutrition, lacking in time for exercise, lacking in time for family.”
Vance shared with her that when he was a graduate student, he was working for a non-profit organization and helping to raise three children all at the same time.
“He started getting sick,” Blaylock said. “He started having chronic migraine headaches … he was having heart palpitations and just purely exhausted.”
When Vance went to the doctor, he was told the cause of his health problems was “literally his own busyness,” she said. “He was over-committed.
“So, he decided to transition his doctoral research to examine how busyness is a tendency to over-commit … how it can have negative effects,” Blaylock added.
“Through his own research, he was able to heal his own issues … it’s the overloading of those (good) commitments that becomes negative.”
In short, Vance will share how to say “no” during his Speaker Series address.
However, “there is a way for leaders – or anybody – to say ‘no’ and not feel guilty, so that they don’t become overly busy and they don’t experience the same poor and very real side effects he experienced,” Blaylock said, adding
