Taking it Easy vs. Being Productive

In my life, I have a tendency to err on the side of having more than enough time for everything, to the point where it gets rediculous. (I'll have a 2 or 3 hour window and assume that I can't fit anything in.)

I probably act this way because I'm reacting to the way I was in high school, where I was overworking myself to the point of exhaustion. I took difficult classes (7 AP classes between Junior and Senior years), was in 2 honor societies and key club, took dance classes for 2 or 3 hours a day, was in a youth dance company, took piano lessons, and went to church and youth group on the weekends. In certain cases, I'm somewhat of a perfectionist. If I'm going to do something, then I want to do it right. Trying to do everything and do it perfectly was exhausting. I would literally doze of while typing. In fact, once I dozed off and when I woke back up I had typed "pillow." I was the same way to a lesser extent in College, but I wasn't quite as busy because going away to school separated me from a lot of the activities that had been taking up so much of my time.

Now that I'm free from the constraints of school and I only have a part time job, the opportunity to laze around and do whatever I feel like is incredibly tempting. There is something to be said for stopping and smelling the roses, and there are even entire books on why its a good idea to take like slowly (see Carl Honoré on the Power of Slow ). However, while its nice to have some free time to check email, watch tv, etc, I'm finding its much more satisfying to actually get stuff done. I'm finding that the really healthy way to live my life is not to overwork myself or to do the bare minimum in an attempt to maximize my free time, but to fill my life with things that are positive and fulfilling, or at the very least serve some purpose. (For example: working so that I can afford to do the fulfilling things.)

If I'm honest with myself, I've sort of known this all along, but am just now getting to the point where I'm challenging myself enough to put it into practice. Contrary to what I expected, adding stuff to my routine doesn't make me feel overwhelmed or particularly tired. I actually find it energizing because I am doing stuff I like to do. So for anyone who is feeling a bit lost or listless, I'd recommend looking at your life and start adding in the little things that you didn't make time for before, like volunteering, cooking dinner at home or going to the gym. You'd be surprised at how much of a difference it really makes.