To keep our lives and homes in order we need to make time for each other. Communication is a big part of keeping our home life simple. If you want a happy home, don’t be too busy for those around you.
Are You Busy All The Time?
This post is as much for myself as it is for anyone else. Are you driven to produce? Are you driven to succeed? Do you feel like success is just around the next corner, in the next book or blog post? Does your desire to produce get in the way of your home life? Are you too busy to be human?
Stop! Take a breath. Relax. Your next post doesn’t determine your worth as a human being. Your next book does not make or break the core individual you are. If you do less, everything will be ok. In fact, it will be better. Being too busy holds us back.
When we get so caught up in productivity that we forget about our family, friends, and neighbors, we have lost something precious. We have become something less than human. We have become like machines, programmed to complete a mundane function at any cost. Write. Podcast. Sell. What about love and empathy? Productivity and humanness are compatible. We just need to set limits. In fact, the secret to productivity is to take time off.
If you’ve been too busy to be human lately, here are some simple things you can do to get back to simple living. Do these things with others.
Five Ways To Be Less Busy
- Drink tea: I have a confession. I’ve been drinking more coffee than tea lately. Whether you’re a coffee person or tea person isn’t the point. Sitting down together with the beverage of your choice (not alcohol in excess) helps us to relate to each other directly. Eating together has the same effect.
- Garden: Getting out in the fresh air and getting our hands in the dirt is essential to our humanness. If we spend all our time on electronic devices we become more like those devices: inhuman and mechanical. Working in our yard revives our senses and kindles our human spirit.
- Tell stories: Stories are human. If we’re only about facts and numbers, success and business, we fail at storytelling. Good storytelling includes love, fear, hope and empathy. Talk to one another. Tell stories. Don’t be too busy to share a bit of yourself.
- Play games: Whether indoor or outdoor, games bring people together. Scratch the video games. Play board games or sports together. Playing games forces us to interact and develop relationships.
- Walk: Take walks together. If you’re too busy to walk, you need to take a hard look at yourself. Walking is essential to life. I walk whenever I can, not just for transportation, but for relaxation and meditation. We’ll focus more on walking next week in the 10 Step Challenge.
Don’t Be Too Busy To Be Human
Don’t put people off with automated responses. Don’t hide behind the too busy excuse. Be real. Be direct. Address others, personally. Tell stories. Be human. Do this at home. Do this at work. Do this in all that you do and you will be successful.
