Simplifying busyness

Simplifying your schedule and busyness of the day may be crucial to your health.

For many of us, life is a hodgepodge of never-ending commitments and to-do lists. Yet few of us can be truly healthy or happy without regular periods of downtime. While there is nothing inherently wrong with busyness, those of us who over-commit or over-extend ourselves potentially face exhaustion, burnout and even sickness. When you feel overwhelmed by your commitments, examining your motivation for taking on so many obligations can help you understand why you feel compelled to do so much. You may discover that you are being driven by fear that no one else will do the job or guilt that you aren't doing enough. To regain your equilibrium and clear the clutter from your calendar, simplify your life by establishing limits regarding what you will and will not do based on your personal priorities and those things that bring you joy. 

Determining where your priorities lie can be as easy as making three lists: The first list can go directly into your calendar.  Start with your personal time as this is often the most important to your health and well-being.  As an example, mine include, morning prayers / gratitude, exercise, connecting time with my husband / family, walking the dog and downtime.  Then take a look at the list of your family and work obligations and prioritize them, making sure that you are not giving everything the same level of prioritization.  What really has to be completed today?  Then, put those into your calendar.  Lastly, look at the other activities.  Create a written list for these as seeing them on paper helps to identify things that excite your passion or bring you joy, You may discover where you devote a large portion of your time to unnecessary activities. To simplify your schedule, consider which of these unnecessary activities add little value to your life and edit them from your agenda. Remember that you may need to ask for help, say no firmly, or delegate responsibility in order to distance yourself from such encumbrances. However, as you divest yourself of non-vital obligations that cause you stress, serve no purpose, or rob you of opportunities to refresh yourself, you will feel more energetic and enthusiastic about life in general. 

If simplifying your schedule seems prohibitively difficult and you still feel pressed to take on more, try imagining how each new commitment will impact your life before saying yes. When you consider the hassle associated with superfluous obligations, you may be surprised to see that your schedule is impeding your attempts to grow as an individual. Your willingness to pare down your agenda, no matter how gradual your progress, will empower you to retake active control of the life that defines you.