NOT a Status Symbol
Busy is NOT something to boast about. Though it may feel good to work through lists or chug through your day, imagine an alternative answer to the question, “Hey how’re you doing?”
- Oh, dang, I’ve been really busy – things are really busy here
- I’m feeling really great, so grounded after taking some time for myself
We’re all so busy, especially right now. We’re in the midst of preparing and planning, closing out the year, shopping, and holding it all together.
We ARE holding it all together, right?
Sometimes it doesn’t feel like it. There are so many details to track and hold onto. They’re in your head, in your calendar, and on your phone. There are so many people that depend on you for so many things. No wonder it’s easy to answer the “how’re you doing” question with, “…busy!”
In all of the noise, it’s essential to plan (yes PLAN) on taking some time for you. Blocking time for major appointments is important as you consider your sanity and overall health. And what could be a better qualification for a major appointment than your health?
We fill our calendars because we can or rather, we because we have a compulsion to do so. Seeing open space requires an activity to fill it. And yet, the empty space is so necessary. Playing solitaire or otherwise getting lost on the computer doesn’t count as empty space or true down time. Watching TV doesn’t count either.
Multiple recent articles on neuroscience and creativity speak to the link and need for “downtime.” Because we get decision fatigue (yes, that’s a thing), it’s necessary to give our brains a rest by letting our minds play. It’s like taking a back road to explore while the main highway is being repaved.
One executive stares out the window at an empty field watching the jack rabbits play. Another runs barefoot along the beach. One doodles. Another meditates. And another just walks around the neighborhood… just walks….
What is your “white-space” thing? What do you do when you’re doing nothing? Have a “go-to” so that you don’t feel pressured to decide in the moment. Plan it. Look forward to it.
And… share it here! We might learn from each other!
It’s okay not to be busy, so what do you do when you’re not doing?
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All the best as you rejuvenate, then rock toward the New Year!