Right about now I wish I had a really cool info graphic about busyness, but I don’t. I just happened to be reading Zen Habits today which was talking about getting lost in the silliness of busyness. I’ve also been thinking about my own life lately, and all the things I’m involved with, and figuring out how much is too much. You can read the whole post at the link above, but I thought this was an interesting part of the blog I was reading:
You may be lost in the silliness of busyness if…
- Your usual response to “how are you?” is “so busy”, “crazy busy” or “busy but good”
- You spend time worrying about how busy you are going to be tomorrow
- You get angry when your spouse or friends aren’t as busy as you
- Your busy life keeps you up at night thinking about everything you didn’t get done
- You make a point of letting people know that you stay at the office after hours
- You check email several times a day
- You zone out during conversations thinking about everything you have to do
- You volunteer for things you don’t care about
- You spend time complaining about how busy you are
- You make list after list to make sure you don’t forget anything during your busy day
- You allocate time each day to clean your desk or organize your stuff
- You regularly eat in your car
- You use a phone in the car because “it’s the only time you have to talk”
Now, I don’t agree with every item on the list, but there’s a lot of them I can identify with and think “man, I probably shouldn’t be doing that.” I get being productive, and I get that life sometimes can get busy, but that needs to only be for a season. From the Bible’s perspective, we were created to need rest (Sabbath) and have a period where we wind down. Live a sustainable life, for your sake and your family’s.
Can you identify with the list? Do you agree with it?
Adam, this was a refreshing article to read and really made me wonder if I am doing too much or planning to do too much in the future. I was really feeling sick today with a sore throat and achy bones on top of being pregnant and I just didn’t even care to pick up my iPad. (I am probably sick bc I am doing too much! Lol!) It was so nice. Instead, I chose to draw and I found my mind in a freely wandering state, which felt so good. I actually thought to myself, before reading this article, that I need to make more time to do the things that make my heart sing. This was no coincidence that I read this article shortly after. Thanks for sharing. Good insight and a nice reminder to unbusy ourselves with less important things in life. What does really matter? Pouring into our families!