There are not enough hours in the day - just an excuse!
A post for busy people.
I used to think that checking my calendar to schedule coffee with a friend or get a playdate for the kids was reserved for Americans only.
But today... I can't even think about saying yes to anything without checking my calendar. And I'm not an exception.
What happened?
We want to do and accomplish so much without missing anything.
We want to invest in our career, keep in touch with friends, don't miss out, God forbid, important events in our children's lives, find quality time for ourselves (sleep, fitness, music, surfing...), visit parents, take care of the house, invest in our partner for a good relationship…
What's the problem?
Like many people, I have always argued that there are not enough hours in the day. Obviously, that's just an excuse. Even if someone added another five hours to the day, I would find a way to fill it out.
So that's not the answer. There are so many options. So many things to get done. People to know. Life to live and we just can't be everywhere.
So, we push and compress the schedule more and more and run from place to place, from meeting to a wedding, to coffee with a friend, to shopping on the go because ooops there is no milk.... And in between, we're on social media, and while scrolling we're already planning the next barbecue.
And the worst.... Not only do we expect ourselves to withstand this madness, but we also require others to be present everywhere. So, it's no wonder that to meet a friend for a coffee, we have to check our calendar and tur into a strategist.
We stretch ourselves to the limit because we want everything and to be present everywhere.
But we can't be present everywhere. And I’m not even mentioning the stress involved, the confusion, the mistakes that are made along the way... In the end, we're not really paying full attention to almost anything. Because we can't be fully present in several places at the same time. It's a bit like being in Zoom while cooking, and in between sneaking text messages while we dye our hair.
What to do?
Choose. Prioritize. Give up something.
We must start by accepting that we can't be omnipresent. It is both unrealistic and unhealthy expectation. Just as we cannot be physically at the same time in several places and we understand it as a given physical constraint, we must try to burden ourselves much less. And yes, it means less of something or less at all so that we will have sane, relaxed days. A little boredom didn't kill anyone. On the contrary, boredom develops creativity.
We can't be omnipresent, and we don't have to. You can choose to be in full in one place at a time.
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