Too Busy....to State the Priorities?

Recently, I was conversing with a friend about a lag in our communications. She said that she was 'very busy.' This reminded me of a discussion I had a long time ago on this topic with Bob, my manager at the time and a smart person. After a lengthy analysis, we both agreed that since everyone has 24 hours in a day to accomplish his or her tasks, everyone is equally 'busy.' The real question is one of priorities and which task takes precedence over other (lower ranked) tasks. However, it is hard to tell a friend that he or she is 'lower on the priority list.' Another example of human emotion trumping accuracy, something even I have succumbed to.