In our professional lives, we tend to remain busy all the time and sometimes may find it hard to do all the tasks expected from us. In such situations, we need to communicate to the higher boss or our family of our busy status.  Today, let us see how you can communicate to others that you are busy in a business manner. Some ways to communicate your busy status are-

When you talk about being busy in past, you say:

I was busy + verb (with ‘ing’ form)
Example: I was busy working.

When you talk about being busy in present, you can say:

I am busy + verb (with ‘ing’ form)
Example: I am busy working.



Following idioms and phrases are used to convey that you are busy.

1. Busy as a beaver

It shows that you are busy indeed.

Example: I am busy as a beaver these days; I couldn’t take out time for lunch.

2. A lot on one’s plate

It shows that you have lot of work to do.

Example: Today, there are a lot of things in my plate as I am supposed to do an extra work of my colleague who is on leave.

3. Slammed

It is used to convey that you are being overloaded with work.

Example: Because of yesterday’s pending work, I am slammed with a lot of work today.

4. Biz

This is a short and slang term which is generally used in an informal communication between colleagues and subordinates.

Example: Hey guys, these days you really seem biz.

5. To be snowed under

This phrase shows that you are busy in a work and you are having trouble doing that.

Example: I am so snowed under the work these days that I do not feel like  doing anything and just want to simply sit at home or go for holiday.

6. Swamped

This is a slang term used for describing yourself as being overworked.

Example: I can’t take more projects as I am already swamped with lot of work.

7. Busiest men have the most leisure

This is an idiom which indicates that professional people manage their work in such a way that they get the time to fulfill all their hobbies and enjoyment and  start new work with a fresh mind.

Example: Raj said he was busy but I know that busiest men have the most leisure.

Hope the above idioms will help you communicate smartly at your workplace. For more articles related to English learning and grammar and phrases & idioms, just browse through our other blogs and articles. Improve your spoken English skills by just downloading our Simple English App which will make your learning simpler and easier.

About EAgeTutor:

eAgeTutor.com is the premier online tutoring provider. eAge's world-class faculty and ace communication experts from around the globe help you to improve English in an all-round manner. Assignments and tasks based on a well-researched content developed by subject matter and industry experts can certainly fetch the most desired results for improving spoken English skills. Overcoming limitations is just a click of mouse away in this age of effective and advance communication technology. For further information on online English speaking course or to experience the wonders of virtual classroom fix a demonstration session with our tutor. Please visit www.eagetutor.com.

- By Shailja Varma

Related topics:

1. Present continuous/present perfect - Can you identify the difference?
2. Learning Simple Present Tense with examples
3. What are adverbs of frequency?
4. Which vs who vs That - Learn the correct usage
5. Phrasal Verbs with Get