How To Be Less Busy

 

Life can be SO exhausting. You have your full time job, a house to keep clean and running, social commitments, children and pets, staying active and eating well, leisure activities to catch up on like book club or binge watching the latest season of your favorite series, and of course trying to find time for yourself to just keep your head above water. Our society tends to make it a “thing” to be so busy you can barely stay afloat but I’m here to tell you it’s okay to stop all of that. I love a simple existence and slow living but I know how hard it is in today’s world. Here are some things I’ve done to be less busy that truly have made a big difference in my life.
Say no without explaining.

This is kind of two things. Start saying no. If it doesn’t serve you, stop committing. You don’t have to say yes to every volunteer opportunity, accept every box of free items from your neighbor that you’ll have to declutter anyways at some point, and agree to every social gathering you get invited to. But to take it a step further, you don’t have to explain why you say no. No is a complete sentence. SAY THAT AGAIN! The biggest way to be less busy is to simply stop saying yes to everything. This can even mean if your teenager asks you to take them to the store for something you simply say no. They can find a ride with a friend or even have your spouse take them. So okay, sometimes there is an explanation needed but the initial reason for your no doesn’t need explained. Don’t start saying how busy you are to you friend asking you for coffee on an already swamped morning. Don’t bother promising to make it up to someone. Just say no and leave it there. You are taking care of yourself and your time and setting boundaries. 

Schedule free time regularly.

This is the way to actually force yourself to utilize the free time you want. Sometimes the only way to commit to it is to plan it out and add it to your schedule or to do list. If you’ve been wanting to read more of the book you’ve been working on, schedule an hour for just that. Put your phone away, avoid distractions, and simply just read. Set a timer on your phone if you struggle with time management and getting consumed in things. Maybe you want to schedule an entire day of doing nothing. Instead of folding laundry that day, try to do it the day before or ask someone else to help. Then you have that time and date free to do NOTHING. 

Choose what free time looks like to you.

Doing nothing and having free time looks different to everyone. Maybe you want to literally sit around on your porch and do NOTHING but stare into space. That’s totally fine. Or maybe down time for you is reading, watching a movie, or napping. For some people, free time just means they leave openings for them to choose what they want to do which may be getting together with friends or simply running errands. 

Set limits for different things.

A great way to stop being so busy is to give yourself a max quota for different things. This can help you limit doing things that drain you too many times but it can also allow you to prioritize things you want to spend time on. Maybe you need alone time daily. Some people may need it weekly. Either way, make sure you schedule daily alone time or weekly alone time. For family gatherings (especially if you have in-laws that always pop over or want to get together) you can set a limit of 1-2x a month or whatever works best for you. For getting together with friends you can always set a goal of once a week to catch up someone in your social circle. It can be dinner, a phone call, or going on a walk together. If you’ve got a partner, don’t forget to schedule date nights too!

Hopefully you can put these ideas into place to secure some more free time for yourself and be less busy overall.

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