Busy, busy

For those of us who are feeling less-than-satisfied with our level of investment in social capital, and who are wondering what possible white space remains in our calendars to write "Build social capital!" - here's something to ponder.

Most of us are probably too busy to add much more social capital investment into our already-crammed life schedules. But I don't know that "being busy" is the problem. The critical question is: busy doing what?

It may be that the very things that are keeping us busy are themselves opportunities to create and deepen social capital. The time spent at the school waiting to pick up our kids is an opportunity to build networks with other parents. Depending on our role, our time on the job can become an investment in social capital - or at least we can actively seek out opportunities to build social capital while working (attending conferences, volunteering to be on task forces, etc.). If carpooling is possible, then that creates the opportunity to transform the dreaded commute into a social capital building opportunity. (And, if carpooling isn't possible, a Bluetooth-equipped hands-free cell phone can at least allow us to make some personal phone calls and connect with people that way while on the road. Just do so safely!)

So, maybe it's not so much an issue of adding more social capital investment into our already-too-busy lives. Maybe it's a matter of transforming our busy-ness into meaningful investments in social capital.

Thoughts?