Busier is Better Than Not
I tried a funny experiment for a month. Rather than see how much I could pack into my schedule, I decided to go the other way.
Saying that I’ve always been the busy guy is an understatement. Husband, father of 4 kids, working full-time, consulting business where I keep turning away clients, and training for ultramarathons. Busy to the point I have had strangers, doctors, long-time friends, and camp counselors ask how I do it. My answers was never anything ground shaking or book-worthy. It was always around taking it as it comes while knowing my priorities. Those of course are:
1. Family
2. Work
3. Running
#2 supports #1 and #3, but I can find a new #2 if the others were out of whack.
At mile 34 in Leadville 100 I had the realization that where I was working was throwing family and running in a bad place. A week after that race, I quit that job. It felt good. The following week I ran 4 of my favorite trails for a total of 45 miles. I focused on consulting and working wherever/whenever I wanted.
Even though I had control, I was busier than I had ever been before.
With that, I accepted a full-time position at a company. This was not a no-brainer decision. The idea of going to an office and taking on a new challenge caused me to question if it was right for me. Prior to the decision, I met a dozen people I would be working with and asked them all the same list of questions. The task ahead was easy for me to see. That may have helped the decision be a little easier. The additional running helped as well.
New adventure underway, I decided to slow down. Doesn’t quite add up does it? Work would be 7:30a – 5:30p. The rest of the time is open. Do less underway!
I turned down consulting offers, avoided volunteering opportunities, and rarely spent time on my iPhone.
Then I signed up for the Boulder 100. You know, people do that on a whim 3 weeks before a 100 mile run. On 15 miles a week of training. More in a different post on the effects of that.
After a month of trying to do less, I never felt worse. It’s hard to explain, but something didn’t line up. I was more tired, slept 9 hours a night, and missed running. It was like my body went into survival mode.
Over the past week I ramped up the schedule and packed it non-stop from 6am to 9pm. Big breakfasts to cook, house cleaning, back-to-back meetings, swinging for the fences, more consulting, starting to run again, daughter’s Girl Scout troop trips, and son to weekend camp … things started to come into balance again. Exhausting yes, but a familiar feeling. There can be a strange addiction to packing in as much as possible. I know there’s more I’m being asked to do, but just haven’t had the daylight hours to physically fit it all in.
It seems my personality doesn’t bode well with taking it easy. The idea of going on a vacation and sitting on a beach all day makes me sleepy. I could see doing that for a few hours, but I’m more into experiencing life. Not worrying about what I can’t control, not worrying about what people think of me, and just doing the right thing. That’s the way I want to live. Not always easy, but allows me to sleep well.
Trying to teach my kids life is about living and not collecting stuff. We go to the theatre, hikes, cross-country road trips, play board games, sing and dance, crafts, art, and more. I don’t want a house full of stuff. My baseball cards from 20 years ago are in my garage. Not sure that gets me much in life. Learning how to experience and think is more valuable now.
Being positively busy helps me focus on what is really important.
