As you kick off the new year—setting resolutions, goals, and plans—there’s a familiar tension: you want change, but you also want certainty. In this episode, Patti and Mark explore how playing it safe can get in your way in small but important ways.

Through a quick self-check, real stories, and practical strategies, they unpack the hidden cost of comfort and share simple, grounded ways to take smarter risks.

If this is the year you stop saying “someday,” this conversation will help you start making the changes you’ve been putting off.

Because the biggest risk isn’t failure—it’s playing it so safe you never try.

In this episode of Aren’t Ya’ Tired Of…?, Patti Johnson and Mark Benton dig into one of our most common — and sneakiest — habits: being addicted to busyness. This isn’t just having a lot to do. It’s the feeling that if you’re not constantly busy, you’re not important, productive, or needed — and the subtle ways we create busyness even when we don’t have to.

Patti and Mark explore why so many of us chase full calendars, say “yes” when we’re already overloaded, or feel guilty when we slow down. Drawing on research and real-life experience, they unpack the identity, dopamine loops, fears, and avoidance patterns that keep us in motion.

You’ll also hear the real impact of busyness — on your creativity, leadership, and well-being — plus practical ideas to break the cycle: reclaiming your calendar, creating space, saying no sooner, stopping at “done,” and leading in a way that doesn’t spread the busyness habit to everyone around you.

A smart, funny, and real conversation that helps you grab the wheel on your time and your life — one small decision at a time.

Join Mark Benton — VP of HR with experience at companies like PepsiCo and now McKesson — and Patti Johnson, former CEO, Board member, bestselling author, and strategic coach and advisor — for smart, funny, and real conversations about the things we’re all tired of — and, most importantly, what to do about them.

They first worked together at Accenture and now bring their humor, honesty, and experience to topics that hit home — like being addicted to busyness, expecting too much of yourself (and everyone else), and finding your voice.

It’s not their first rodeo — which is exactly why their insights and fresh ideas work in real life, helping you work and live just a little better.