Making Time

Photo by Veri Ivanova on Unsplash

There's a lot to do today. Too much to do. My coffee fueled brain is racing this morning during my commute. We moved to a new office space as of Monday, and are still in the process of getting settled in. I can’t wait until everything is over and we’ve all found a new normal.

The move was necessary for our company. And I’m happy that it has happened... but I am so looking forward to a point where everything can flow smoothly, once again. In the meantime, my to-do list is growing, and I’m feeling overwhelmed.

Right about now, I’d love a long walk to nowhere important. I’d just like to walk. Headphones in ear or not, I’d like a distraction from everything swirling around me all at once. I want to wander.... go someplace I haven’t before. Explore. Stop and take my surroundings in. Offer myself the space to not have a care in the world.... Block out the stress that keeps on intruding.

If I can make time for this type of real-world escape, either today or tomorrow, in the midst of my work week, I know I’ll function much better. It’s strange how this works... how, sometimes, we must distance ourselves from what it is that we are doing, in order for us to do it better once we return. But knowing this to be the case is only half the battle. Putting this into action can be the real challenge. When a to-do list is growing with time-consuming tasks, setting free time aside in an already tight schedule feels counterproductive. But it never is. And I have to remind myself of this. Self-care is paramount.

I’ve noticed that a few of my very busy colleagues list breaks from their work-life on their public work calendar. Alongside work meeting after work meeting scheduled... there’s a spot where they list gym for an hour, a lunch they’ll be having with a friend, a concert they’ll be attending in the evening, or personal, housekeeping errands they need to attend to. They’ve found a clear integration of their work-life and life-life. I need to find more of that balance during hectic weeks such as this one.

Going forward, I’d like to challenge myself to use my own calendar the same way. Make room for my “life-life” in the midst of my work week. Yes, it’s a “work” week. But I still need time to live. I am a living, breathing human being, not a machine, after all.

Originally written 4/1/2019.