Busy Is A Blessing But Don't Let It Break You

I've been busy lately. Very busy. It was to be expected but I'm still trying to adapt and find a way to keep my head over water while my strokes doesn't become sloppy and uninspired. I don't want to just thread waters, I want to swim elegantly and move forward - even when the water is rough and threatens to push me under. I'm still trying to find that balance.

I'm currently writing this sitting in a McDonalds, which has just had an influx of lunch time customers. I've been here for over an hour and I have made it through one chapter in my strategy book, as well as gotten some nuggets as a very late breakfast or early lunch considering I won't have time for lunch later. It's an odd atmosphere to be studying in here but it was rather close to the place where my scooter is currently undergoing a roughly two hour service, so here I wait while trying to be productive in the mean time. It's a necessity when you have things hanging over your head and you try to juggle and manage your time. 

This, oddly enough, perfectly ties into the topic I want to talk about in this post. There's a lot of stuff to read for my lectures and exercise classes at university. It didn't objectively come as a surprise since I am now on my Masters but emotionally, it's still taking a while to get used to. It's a lot and I had a rather blissful half workload semester on my bachelor in the spring and the intensity has understandably tripled since then. And then there's the two student jobs, looking after my beloved horse, my urge to constantly write, my need for solitary reflection time and an attempt at a social life thrown into the mix.

I'm sure I've mentioned the catchphrase "busy is a blessing" before and I do still understand and agree with the sentiment. Having something to fill your days with is definitely a blessing. It means that you're doing something with your life and you're not just floating through space, even if it can feel like that sometimes too. As I mentioned in a post a while back, I don't think you should ever let yourself become bored and I think a way to combat it is to fill your days with activities. 

However, as I learnt when I had to push back courses and postpone finishing my bachelor's degree, business can also become too much. You should definitely be grateful that you can find things to fill your day, especially if you are able to fill it with things that you enjoy. However, the euphoria of being busy can mean that you pile too many things onto your plate. 

When you're at the buffet of opportunities, you just grab all the wonderful things that take your fancy. It's only when you sit down at the table and look at your plate that you realised you'll never be able to stomach it all. 

By a Girl who Loves to Write aka Me

It turns out to be too many commitments at the same time and your brain becomes overwhelmed and just shuts down. I personally need time to be by myself and just recharge by reading or watching something on my computer. I know this and yet, I'm out here almost every single day pushing the boundaries of my social energy deposit. Often times, this causes me backlash by giving me the urge to stay in bed all day without talking to anyone. It's my body's way of keeping me in check. Some days, I let it and other days I push through it. The only problem with the latter option is that then it will come back at full force next time and I won't be able to power through. 

I watched the video below last year and I have the song at the start on my phone. As Dodie's voice escalates, it perfectly encompasses how it feels to be busy and overwhelmed. However, much like in the video, it's important to pull your spiralling mind to a stop and remind yourself that being busy is a part of life and everyone is busy. Also remember to drink some water - that is always solid advice. For some periods of time, you'll be more busy than others but if you remember to respect your recharging time, then you will be okay. May this blog post act as a reminder for me to do just that. 

It's easy to say but a lot harder to do in reality. You want to do all those things that excite you. If you have a lot of less fun responsibilities, you want to pack your day with fun things as well. It's also so easy to say yes to things that will happen in a week or two and just pencil it into your packed schedule. When the day comes, you might be stressing about wondering why you gave yourself so little time between appointments. 

I don't know if there's any conclusion I want to reach in this. Mostly, I just had to write about it because it's something that has been on my mind for the last couple of days and getting things into writing is always so therapeutic. Almost everything in life is about finding the right balance that works for you. You want to fill your days with responsibilities and things you enjoy, but you should only do it to the degree which you are comfortable with. 

If I schedule too much for days on end, my body will pull the breaks and force me to take a full day of nothing, which ends up just setting me back even further. You need to learn your tolerance and respect it. Push your boundaries for sure, it's a good thing to grow and learn, but don't do it without giving yourself time to process.