Why is everyone so busy, these days? What are we doing with our time, that makes it close to impossible for us to schedule leisurely activities, into our everyday lives? I am guilty of this too. I work in a field where saying things such as, “I have got so much work to do, I have barely slept in three days...”, is a source of pride and honour, not something to be pitied.
We live in a society that is increasingly normalising workaholism. While we haven’t quite reached the same levels as, say, the Japanese, we are fast getting there. Whether you are a student or an employee, it is gradually becoming harder to maintain a “work-life balance”, a topic everyone talks about, but few actually act on.
Being present
I got thinking about this because of small changes in my life. The past week has been relatively less “busy” for me because my workload had temporarily decreased. As a result, for a few precious days, the quality of my sleep had improved and I was sleeping for longer hours; I was eating proper meals at the right time; I resumed purchasing books, to add to my already ridiculously tall “To be read” pile; I began watching a new TV show; and I spent more time with my family.
Eating, sleeping, talking to people, streaming a TV show — there is nothing special here. These are routine activities that we all do on a daily basis. What really made a difference was that, this time around, I felt more “present”, and could take greater pleasure in these activities than I did before. I wasn’t thinking about all the unfinished work I had to get back to, or the deadlines I had to meet. I could also be more disciplined about ensuring I made time for these activities, instead of compromising on their quality or skipping them altogether.
By trying to prove to the world that we are in a perpetual state of busyness, we are only shortchanging ourselves. What are we trying to prove, and to whom? There is nothing wrong with having free time on your hands, and if you are unable to find it in your schedule, then, perhaps, you need to give up something to make time for yourself.
Identify what those essential activities are, that would make a difference to your life, and start making time for them, without using busyness, as an excuse. It could be something as simple as making sure you don’t schedule meetings around lunch time, so that you avoid skipping meals. Or, it could be bowing out of late-night outings with friends, so that you can catch up on much-needed sleep.
It might be hard at first, but try to put your phone away and enjoy the present. If you have unfinished work that needs attending to, try to finish it beforehand so that your time off is your reward, and you are not constantly thinking about having to get back to it. Or, if it is work that comes in at the last moment, unexpectedly, try to negotiate your way out of having to do it until you have taken your time off.
In our quest to attain work-life harmony, perhaps we won’t achieve perfection, but that is no reason to give up and surrender to the seductive beckoning of workaholism. Striving to achieve balance is what will keep our stress levels in check. Additionally, what we do with our free time is what enhances our personality — otherwise, what would we all be, but unidimensional worker bees?
The author is a psychologist and management consultant. krithvis@gmail.com
