We have hit the halfway point of the fall semester, and the culture of ‘busy-ness’ appears to be in full swing. As a senior at a small, liberal arts, academically rigorous university, this is a practice that I have observed for nearly 4 years now. I myself have and continue to fall victim to this issue just as much as the next guy; when others begin to talk about how busy they are during a specific span of time, I find myself panicking and thinking that I absolutely have to find something else to add to my plate – but why? It has been so deeply instilled in our generation that consistently busying ourselves with school, work, and extracurriculars to cram onto a resume is the only way we can reach professional success. Do not get me wrong though, those things are obviously helpful for the competitive world that we are stuck in, but it seems as though people have forgotten the importance of taking time out of their day to just do something for themselves.
I find myself, as well as my peers, complaining about the number of things we have on our checklists, yet I also think a lot of us would fear having too much time on our hands – what would we do with ourselves? This behavior is not only brought on by our own generational habits; middle-aged adults perpetuate this culture just as much. In a meeting with my advisor recently she asked me how I had been doing lately, which I responded to by telling her I had been very busy. After stating this she looked at me and said, ‘wow that’s great!’…is it? I had been drowning in work, readings, and obligations; I had felt extremely productive yet so burnt out at the same time. While keeping up with the constant hustle that our professional and academic worlds have become, it is so important to remember to take care of ourselves and each other and to spend time doing things that don’t just get us ahead of the game but make us happy.
It is unrealistic to suggest people just drop everything they’re doing and run through meadows and read poetry, but there are ways to begin unlearning busy-culture. Setting aside just one hour a day or even every other day to just rest, take a breather, or do something calming that brings you joy is a great way to take a step back from the constant hustle and bustle. Evaluating the organizations and extracurriculars you’re involved with and really asking yourself if your membership is beneficial to you is another way to un-busy. The easiest, most simplistic practice of them all is just saying “No.” It is okay to say no when you are asked to either do something or get involved with something. Trust me, the path of life most likely will not be earth-shatteringly altered by doing so. Maintaining your time and filling it with things that are meaningful to you is so so important, especially in the world we live in today. We all deserve to spend our time doing things we love, not just climbing the ladder of success, and I think it’s time we all began to learn how.