I once saw a video of a girl speaking about how it bothered her when people said they were busy. She felt it reflected poor time management skills and an inability to prioritize the tasks that mattered. In her opinion, it was not impressive to have your time packed full because it diminishes the quality of the commitments that are significant to one’s passions and of course, it reduces the time that is left over to enjoy life. If you are anything like me, this take felt a little bit like an attack. Lots of time in college is spent on trying to build your resume and pack your schedule with classes, jobs, clubs, internships, exercise, socializing and passions. And to be successful each of these needs to have their space in our lives. But really, she brings up a good point. Having the most of each of these isn’t what matters but instead having meaningful experiences that include making the most of the responsibilities we have in addition to activities that will enhance our lives. There is no worth in being the busiest but instead value comes from choosing to be involved in ways that enhance us personally and professionally and leave time for us to continue pursuing other aspects of wellness.
Of course, this is easier said than done. Not only do students feel pressure to be as involved as possible but lots of times we really are interested in lots of different things. So, it can be really challenging to say no to these possibilities. One aspect might be to still be somewhat involved but limit your leadership to activities that you think you really want to continue to pursue. Another option is to reassure yourself that it is okay if the things you enjoy remain passions or things you pick up from time to time. People cannot do everything and when we try the subjects that we actually value may start to suffer. In no way am I trying to be a hypocrite because I am just as guilty of packing my day full as much as anyone else. But, I am trying to simultaneously give myself forgiveness and hold myself accountable. It is okay to say no and doing so allows space for more purposeful pursuits to fill the void. As society we need to also move past saying we are busy as an excuse. Our commitments are no more important than those of our friends and success is contingent on our ability to prioritize what we really care about and make connections that will sustain us. I have a long way to go but I see the point that individuals were making: growth is knowing that there is no inherent meaning in business but the effort we put into the commitments is what really matters.