Do You Ever Feel Like You’re Too Busy to Live Your Life?
After I started my own company, I remember complaining to my husband that I was too busy and had too much to do. He so wisely remarked, “Don’t you get to set your own schedule now that you are your own boss?” His comment made me stop and reflect. He had a point. There were so many things I could work on to develop my new business, and I was trying to do them all at once. Why was I creating a life that felt more like a race?
I decided to cut back on my networking events and my schedule in general. I still made time to be with friends, and I set aside time for yoga every week. I spent more time going for walks with my husband and doing fun things with my daughter. I tried hard to create a life that didn’t feel rushed.
In today’s society, it seems there is a worthiness, a value in being busy. Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.points out in her article titled, “Busyness: The New Status Symbol,” that “Success and status are measured by how busy you are. The busier, the better. So busy that you can’t take time off. So busy that you carry your laptop with you everywhere. So busy that you check email right before closing your eyes and right after opening them. So busy that you work right through the weekend. So busy there’s no time to call your mom let alone have lunch with her.”
It’s interesting to notice my reaction when other people tell me how busy they are and list all the things they have going on. There is a moment when I feel less important, less worthy because of my more “leisurely” lifestyle. I have to remind myself that I’m working to purposely design my life to be aligned with my values. It’s far from perfect, and I still get too busy, but it’s better.
“Know that you don’t have to be everything to be enough.” – Yvonne Tally, author of Breaking Up with Busy.
Do you often wish you were less busy? You have more choices than you realize. Find a better balance by taking a hard look at how you’re spending your time and your priorities. Reflect on the kind of life you want to have.