Stopping the glorification of the word "busy"

So when I first got started in my career I made a mistake I feel that most of us do as young adults. We confuse the word "busy" with "productive". Now don't get me wrong, I do have busy days and I do have productive days. But I can also have busy days that aren't productive. Learn early in your career that busy isn't necessarily a positive thing. It is all subjective yes, but think about this, missing a date night because you are working late. Once isn't a big deal, hell, twice can be forgiven, but when it becomes a habit, that is when we have a problem. When you are missing out on family events or time with your friends, it is easy to justify it because you are making money. Again, I am not saying that you shouldn't make work a priority. If you know me, you know I work well over 40 hours a week, and so does my husband, and he has a company that we both work for when we are not at our respective day jobs. Work is great! Hell, I wish more people in our (my) generation had a better work ethic! What I am saying is just because you may be getting started in your career and probably feel like you need to prove yourself does not by any means mean that you must sacrifice your personal life to do so. Letting everyone know that you will be late to Thanksgiving dinner because you have a contract to write or you have a deadline to meet, doesn't make you appear successful, it just drives home the point to those who mean the most that you are putting something else (whatever it is) ahead of them. 

I live and die by my calendar. If it isn't on there, it doesn't exist. I don't put every little thing on there, but I do put my priorities on there. I have my day-to-day must do's, and I have my time with my friends and family on my calendar as well. But, if you aren't doing what is on there then you are missing the point. It takes a little discipline, but anything can become a skill in just 66 days. My advise, if this is something that you are struggling with would be to just start by looking at your calendar everyday- add things take things off- but all in all, just look at it. Make                                                                                                                                                                                        it a habit to engage with your daily outline first. Then go from there.

Young people who who strive for more, need a healthy balance between work and play. My personal opinion (not based on any stat) is a "70/30 Rule"; 70% of my week is work, and 30% is play. You do deserve to enjoy the money you are making, and you need to be okay- like really o.k.a.y with putting away the laptop/phone/tablet/whatever & be fully preset in what you are doing. I'll end this post with one of my favorite quotes: "Be where you are... otherwise you will miss your life"- Buddha ​

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