Let's Talk the Glorification of "Busy"

I've always considered myself someone who runs better when I'm on a tight schedule. It gives me less time to sit around and procrastinate and I always feel productive when I lay in bed at night before falling asleep.

However, there is a downside to this. Whenever I decide to relax to a little bit or have a self care day, I feel guilty that I'm not busy. Even though I'm supposed to be thinking about anything but what's up next on my to do list for the week, those thoughts creep into my head and make it hard to enjoy my downtime.

Why does it have to be like this? I know, and I'm sure many others do as well, the importance of taking a break every now and then to save your sanity. But it's hard to get rid of those guilty thoughts. You might find yourself angrily telling yourself that you're being lazy or wasting time, even when it's not true.

In my opinion, I think this focus on staying as busy as possible comes from a need to accomplish as much as possible from a young age. Not to get all preachy, but I think that a lot of this pressure comes from social media and the fact that nobody posts their failures on the Instagram accounts and Facebook pages. There's a pressure to be living our best lives and being successful in our twenties.

Okay, I'm going to step down from my soapbox now.

As good as it is to stay busy and be productive, there shouldn't be any guilty feelings about taking care of yourself. It's still productive in its own way. After all, you won't be able to perform your best if your body and mind aren't at their best (I think I might have stepped back up onto that soapbox for a moment again).

I'm working to make sure I combat those angry thoughts when I'm taking breaks and allowing myself the time to properly take care of myself. What are some ways you take a break from the glorification of our busy lives?

xoxo,

Rachel