Let’s face it, busy-ness has become a major problem. From overbooking work events to taking on more projects than one can handle, even planning too many social activities in a week, I’ve seen (and heard) it all and I’m challenging you to QUIT!

I cannot tell you the number of times I’ve heard a friend say “I’m just so busy” in a completely exasperated tone. While I think this may have historically been a female problem (being all things to all people is an expectation deeply rooted in our gender), I’m no beginning to notice the phenomenon across all genders more and more these days. It has to stop. Over-scheduling is exhausting, squashes creative fire, and can even lead to anxiety and depression. It is nearly impossible to tend to your mental, physical, or emotional health if we are so busy with obligations that we have no room left for spontaneity, silence, nature, friend/family time, or some good old fashioned R&R.

While I’ve experienced the frustration of this for years, scheduling girl’s nights months in advance because everyone has so much on their plate they can’t find a free hour or two to hang, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I really reveled in the magic of having absolutely NOTHING on my weekend calendar except my son’s Sunday afternoon soccer game. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to “do” anything, it was the shear excitement from the possibility that I could do anything. I was practicing yoga at home when the magic hit me and in a split second I realized This, is what weekends are for.

Weekends are for relaxing, exploring, creating, and connecting. Weekends are for laughing and crying, wrestling with your dreams. Weekends are for stillness, sadness, and joy. When I was a child I just loved weekends. Friday was my favorite day of the week (and still is), filled with the excitement of the days ahead. From the moment I opened my eyes on Friday morning I was energized, looking forward to the promise of takeout pizza, boxed brownies, and usually a rented movie. Saturday may have involved cheering or watching one of my brother’s games, perhaps a play date with friends or a sleepover. More often than not, it involved whatever we felt like doing, or at least that’s how it appeared to me at the time. Sunday was usually a stay at home day, filled with family. When we did go to church Sunday dinner was easy, everyone gathered round, followed by naps and conversation. Remember those days? When things were lazy and easy? Or was that just my experience? I’m no stranger to the fact that growing up in Appalachia had it’s unique points. Family meant everything. Best friends were often cousins. The front porch may as well have been a second living room. Neighbors were family. The yard, the woods, were an extension of home. Maybe life was just different there, back then, but I long for that same simplicity today.

I dream of long walks in nature, the sound of children laughing in the distance, picking veggies from the neighbor’s garden, sharing a cup of sugar for the making of a special treat.. because the store was just too far a drive. Spontaneous Saturdays. Lazy Sundays. The easy life.

So guess what? I’m creating that life today. Jagger plays one sport at a time so our evenings and weekends are fairly free for rest and spontaneous fun. I say YES! to the things that light me up and politely decline the things that don’t. If, despite my best efforts, my calendar gets too full, I reschedule the events I’m able to and advance plan for the ones I cannot. It’s the kickass way to live and, since I happen to be living with a few chronic conditions, I can more easily see that it’s the healthy way to live. See, if I over schedule myself I pay for it for days. If I consistently overbook myself I pay for it for months, even years. My guess is, that even if you pay for it in a different way than me, you still pay for it. You may not be bedridden with a bottomed out BP and crazy heart rates. Your stomach may not stop working. You may not have an increase of excruciating pain or the other myriad of things that can physically happen to me. However, your relationships could suffer. You could become depressed or lose the excitement you once had for your job. You could have an increase in cortisol, suffer from insomnia, gain some weight. Or maybe you’d just forget what really matters, why you’re really here on this planet, what you really enjoyed about life in the first place. Isn’t that a high enough price in itself?

So, here’s the challenge.. Look at your calendar for the next month. If you tend to chronically overbook yourself, schedule in some free time. If you’re already overbooked, see what you can move or remove to create room for creation energy to flow. If you want to get really whacky, schedule a rest day into your routine (I recommend this weekly for people with a chronic condition and at least monthly for everyone else). If that’s something you can’t even imagine right now, start with a rest hour or two. The important thing is to start.

If you are someone who has non-stop back to back meetings maybe begin by creating a little space between some of them. If you tend to over schedule yourself on the weekends, say no to at least one obligation, creating a few hours to just be. I realize this may be challenging. There was a time when my calendar was so full that I don’t even know how I made it as long as I did before my big crash. I had to have a health crisis to literally make it impossible for me to do practically anything before I would even begin to back off. So, I understand and I’m challenging you to take an honest evaluation of your life before you learn the hard way that you really can’t do it all, especially all at once. This may take some re-framing and will likely stretch you in ways that may feel uncomfortable. However, I’m willing to bet that once you get past the newness of it, you’ll begin to settle in and enjoy!

So, go ahead, give it a try, and let me know how it goes. Already have your schedule under wraps? What are your hacks for staying on track? I can’t wait to hear from you! And, if you need support schedule an appointment to uncover your unique roadblocks and create strategies that will work best for you.