Life is busy, life is messy, we all wear many hats and find ourselves encumbering many roles, but when do you say enough is enough? Do you ever find yourself awake at night because you feel anxiety about all the things you have to do, literally the "to-do" list is playing over and over in your head and you feel your anxiety mounting? Have you ever found yourself in a situation and wondered why am I doing this or why am I spending time on this? If you are like me this didn't happen overnight but was more of an accumulation of items piling up over time until you realized one day what once was manageable has now become a little bit more than you can handle. If you haven't had your "moment of clarity," here are some tell-tale signs you can use to help figure out if you are in this situation:
1.) Regular exercise ain't happening
Were you once a gym rat, or did you get out and run/walk/bike a few times a week on a consistent basis and now you have no time for it? For overburdened people a common practice to create more time is to cut exercise out. Sometimes putting aside that trip to the gym in favor of something else is necessary but it is all too easy to fall out of the habit of going, which isn't good for anyone.
2.) Healthy eating is something you aspire to
After a hectic workday and coming home to a huge list of household chores, it can be pretty easy to give in to fast food temptation or ordering out instead of cooking your own meal. Again once in awhile is okay but if the pizza delivery guy is on your speed dial and you have already stopped working out, it is not only unhealthy but a sign you might have too much going on.
3.) Hobbies have become a non-existent priority
If your hobbies have been replaced by household chores, doing laundry, running errands, etc, there is a good possibility you are doing too much. In general, people prioritize things they "must do" over things they "want to do" and sometimes "it is what it is", but if you let life pass you by without doing the things you love and get energized by, it is a clear sign you are doing too much. After all, what is life without time to pursue and enjoy the things you love to do?
4.) Constantly running late
We all run late from time to time, our alarm didn't go off, the train/bus was delayed, we're stuck in traffic, or a meeting ran long, but if you are perpetually running from meeting to meeting and are late to all of them, you are doing too much and you either need to dial things back, learn to say no, or learn to time manage a bit more strategically. The danger here is that while you are trying to accommodate everyone and get to every meeting, your lateness can be perceived as unreliability or lack of respect, and that is clearly the opposite of the message you want to convey.
5.) Stress is impacting your health
If you experience regular headaches, fatigue, aches and pains, chronic cold-like symptoms, insomnia, weight gain, hair loss, or some combination of these in addition to irritability, lack of patience, become easily frustrated, feel overwhelmed or like you are drowning, lose focus easily and have become forgetful, you are definitely experiencing stress. If this sounds like you, then you've reached the point where you need to make a change, drop some items off the to-do list, so you can get back on track and return to a more manageable work-load. After all as the great Count Rugen in the Princess Bride says, "If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."
1.) Regular exercise ain't happening
Were you once a gym rat, or did you get out and run/walk/bike a few times a week on a consistent basis and now you have no time for it? For overburdened people a common practice to create more time is to cut exercise out. Sometimes putting aside that trip to the gym in favor of something else is necessary but it is all too easy to fall out of the habit of going, which isn't good for anyone.
2.) Healthy eating is something you aspire to
After a hectic workday and coming home to a huge list of household chores, it can be pretty easy to give in to fast food temptation or ordering out instead of cooking your own meal. Again once in awhile is okay but if the pizza delivery guy is on your speed dial and you have already stopped working out, it is not only unhealthy but a sign you might have too much going on.
3.) Hobbies have become a non-existent priority
If your hobbies have been replaced by household chores, doing laundry, running errands, etc, there is a good possibility you are doing too much. In general, people prioritize things they "must do" over things they "want to do" and sometimes "it is what it is", but if you let life pass you by without doing the things you love and get energized by, it is a clear sign you are doing too much. After all, what is life without time to pursue and enjoy the things you love to do?
4.) Constantly running late
We all run late from time to time, our alarm didn't go off, the train/bus was delayed, we're stuck in traffic, or a meeting ran long, but if you are perpetually running from meeting to meeting and are late to all of them, you are doing too much and you either need to dial things back, learn to say no, or learn to time manage a bit more strategically. The danger here is that while you are trying to accommodate everyone and get to every meeting, your lateness can be perceived as unreliability or lack of respect, and that is clearly the opposite of the message you want to convey.
5.) Stress is impacting your health
If you experience regular headaches, fatigue, aches and pains, chronic cold-like symptoms, insomnia, weight gain, hair loss, or some combination of these in addition to irritability, lack of patience, become easily frustrated, feel overwhelmed or like you are drowning, lose focus easily and have become forgetful, you are definitely experiencing stress. If this sounds like you, then you've reached the point where you need to make a change, drop some items off the to-do list, so you can get back on track and return to a more manageable work-load. After all as the great Count Rugen in the Princess Bride says, "If you haven't got your health, you haven't got anything."
I love Princess Bride! Your list rings very true.
ReplyDelete