There was a time when I thought being busier was somehow the key to being a better person. It’s what society ingrained in me growing up. If I didn’t have a half dozen errands, a few appointments, and roughly a billion projects on the go at a given time, then I was a lazy person.
I’m not sure when it clicked with me how stupid that mentality is, but once I realized that I could say no to some things and the rest didn’t have to be perfect, my mental health improved so much.
I do my best to get what must be done done, but everything else is negotiable.
It took a few years of finding the right balance and the right tools that allow me to have plenty of free time while all efficiently keeping my life in order, but now I am so much happier.
And yet, for a long time I didn’t admit to people how “lazy” I was.
They would come into the office announcing how busy they were the night before, holding their coffee like an exhaustion trophy.
Meanwhile, I had spent most of my evening playing video games and went to bed before 10 PM, but was only able to do that because I have set up my life to allow for both productivity and rest.
I also hold myself to one important rule: just get something done. If that something is half a round of dishes, fine. Baby steps still get you where you need to be.
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Of course, everyone’s life and responsibilities are different.
I don’t have kids, just dogs, and I have a stable job with a routine schedule.
Still, it’s important for everyone to find even small moments to take care of their mental health and even more important for people to stop grading people’s productivity based on how little sleep they get.
Things have definitely started to improve on that front.
More and more people are seeing self-care as a real thing that should be prioritized just as much as chores and social events.
It’s not about being lazy, but about taking care of yourself so that you can be healthy and happy. It’s not a change that can be made quickly, but if you’re feeling stretched beyond capacity, maybe try letting go a little.
Delegate a task to someone else and be okay with it not being perfect. Say no to that social engagement you hate going to anyway. Take an hour to curl up in a cozy chair with a good book.
You need it. You deserve it. Not as a “reward” for completing some never-ending to do list, but as an item on that same list, prioritized alongside everything else.
