Life, Actually: Scrambling

To me, one of the worst feelings in the world is that feeling of being overbooked… of scrambling from point A to point B, and feeling as though I don’t have any time to myself. When my schedule is overbooked, I feel overwhelmed and as if I have no control over my life. And I have a really hard time just enjoying the moment and being present. I think this is because when you’re overbooked you become preoccupied… you can’t focus and just be in the moment. On top of that, I’m definitely an introvert at heart and recharge my batteries by getting that “me time” and being alone and in my head… reading a book, working on this blog, or doing something in solitude.

This past weekend, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. On Saturday, due to blog + personal commitments, I had to be in Astor Place, Soho, the Meatpacking District, Brooklyn, and the Financial District – all in one day. Seriously. I was overwhelmed with anxiety – and suddenly all of the things that I had planned that day {all were fun things, really: a workout class, two blog appointments, a birthday party for a close friend, and hanging out with another close friend and her boyfriend} stopped sounding fun. I started to feel sorry for myself. I was tired and had a long week – I wanted a day on the couch… or at least to be able to clean my apartment. In hindsight this all sounds a bit ridiculous and selfish but that is how I felt in the moment.

The day ended up being just fine… and actually a lot of fun. I took it step by step and remembered to just enjoy the moment and focus on the people I was with. I was late to a few things but it all worked out. And I got that “couch day” the next day {three words for you: House of Cards.} Still, I thought about what I could do differently next time around to avoid those anxious feelings. I’m not entirely sure, but I think that the two things below are pretty crucial.

1. Don’t make so many plans. Weekends are meant to be savored, and when you overbook yourself {especially after an hectic week}, they are harder to enjoy. Besides that, you’ll enter the work week without feeling rested, which in my opinion is no way to start a Monday morning. It’s better to pick and choose. That way you can savor the things you are doing and the people you are spending time with as opposed to rushing from one thing to another. Last Saturday was unavoidable, but going forward I am going to try my best to plan only two activities per day whenever possible.
2. Say no more frequently // focus on what is important.  This is something I am really actively working on – but it is still something I struggle with a lot. I want to be a good friend. I get FOMO if there is something cool going on that all of my friends are Instagramming and I’m missing out on. But to be successful in both your life and your career, you really have to pick and choose your priorities. Otherwise you’ll go nuts. Right now, I focus on my day job, my close friendships + family, my health, and this blog. Every day, every hour even, the order of those priorities may change… but those are the constants… the important things. Everything else is secondary and can only happen if I have free time. If going to an event on a work night or having drinks with an acquaintance means I’m going to have to be up to 1am finishing my blog post for the next day or that I’ll fall short on workouts for the week, I say no. Sanity, sleep, and my health are more important.

I’m still trying to figure out more things that I can do to be better at this. The gym helps a lot too, especially yoga classes.

What do you guys do to stay sane when things get hectic!? Please share!! 🙂

image found here.