I realize things are really hectic on your end with the PR scandal, but I must remind you that your payments are weeks overdue.My schedule is quite hectic these days, but let’s catch up next time you’re here.Imagine all your tasks frantically flying around you, and you have the right idea. “Hectic” means that there are a lot of things going on that are difficult to control. For example, you can be up to your ears in laundry (if you haven’t washed your clothes in a while) or debt (if there’s a lot you need to pay off). You can use this one for many situations. We’re up to our ears in work before the holiday season.As a secretary, I’m always up to my ears in paperwork.Think of a pile of work that is stacked all the way up to your ears and giving you anxiety. People also say “I’m drowning (in work)” or “I’m snowed under (with work).” 9. There’s no way I can take a vacation right now.Our team is low on manpower, so we’re constantly buried in work.Each time you take on a new task, another rope is tied around you until you’re all “tied up” and not free to work on anything else.
Think of each task you need to work on as a rope. I understand you’re preoccupied with more pressing matters at the moment. Sorry, I’m a little preoccupied at the moment.
In either case, you can say you were “preoccupied,” because you were already (“pre-”) occupied (busy doing something). Or imagine getting a call while you’re driving to work. Imagine someone knocking on your office door while you’re having a meeting. Below are 10 English expressions that’ll do the job much better. So it’s safer to avoid using the word “busy.” It’s blunt and often just not the right word. Research has even found telling people about what keeps you busy has been common in Christmas greeting cards.īut if you use this word to tell a coworker why you can’t take their call or your boss why you can’t attend a meeting, what you’re really saying, according to the BBC, is “‘I’m not very good at prioritising my time and, at the moment, you’re not a priority at all.” You could also ask any of these questions in the present perfect progressive tense since it describes a continuous state or action up until now.“Busy” is a popular English word - but not in the way that many learners think.įor example, “busy” has become a common response to “How are you?” (“I’m doing well! Just busy studying for my exams”). Instead, Kenny follows with the phrase these days in order to specify that he’s asking about Nate’s current life in general. This is a common way to do this, but you cannot simply ask What are you doing? That would mean you want to know what someone is doing right at that moment.
Here, Kenny runs into Nate and asks What are you doing these days? in order to catch up with him after a long period of not seeing him. Nate: I’ve been working and taking classes part-time.
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