Technological innovations promise to make our lives easier, faster and simpler. Yet one effect of our smart phones and laptops and instant communication? We’re on our devices non-stop, communicating with family and friends but also colleagues and clients or customers. We’re updating, responding, scheduling and planning. Certainly, any strong sense of “division” between work (or school) and home is blurred by the constant flow of communication.
What’s the effect then of all that technology? Are our lives easier or simpler…or are we simply busier, as life flows by at a seemingly faster and faster pace?
Do you have more “free” time than you did a decade or two ago? Do you spend your leisure time in activities that don’t involve gadgets, or is the way you relax a reflection of the busyness ruling your life?
Technology is a convenient scapegoat for what may be considered a present day addiction to busyness, but ultimately, there’s more behind our drive to be “humans doing” rather than “human beings.” What is lurking behind our “to do” lists, or scheduling our kids’ time so tightly, “play dates” must be punched into calendars weeks in advance?
Numbing behaviors–those activities we use as armor against vulnerability–don’t always involve alcohol and drugs or mindless television binges. Being crazy busy may just be today’s most acceptable way to avoid uncomfortable self-reflection, facing facts about our lives we’d rather avoid, or coming to terms with needs we’re neglecting to address related to our spiritual fulfillment.
What’s the solution? Should we slow down…and if so, how?
Here are some insights, tips and techniques to help you decide and, if you choose, get started…
- Addicted to Being Busy – Professor Fisher recommends giving yourself permission to sit still for a while and quieten your inner sense of urgency. Reassess what role being busy plays in your life and whether there any important longer term goals that are being overlooked.
- 11 Ways To Say No (And Be A Happier, Healthier Person) – It’s okay to say “No.” It’s not only okay, it’s necessary if you want to achieve balance and inner peace. If you’ve never known how that feels, you may not even have considered saying no. Here are 11 tips you can use to get started.
- Take Something Off Your Plate: 3 Tips to Help You Reclaim More of Your Time – Are you too busy to figure out how to stop being so busy? Here are three simple tips to help you reclaim more of your own time when your plate is already full.
