“Life’s simple pleasures…” Where have they gone? Life becomes complex due to busyness. At some point, you have probably thought, “If only there were more hours in the day...” or “I am so busy, I don’t have any time.” The culture we are growing up in seems to value productivity in the form of doing and earning, rather than valuing time.
What happens when we become consumed with work and other activities that distract us from rest and relaxation? For starters, we become overworked, stressed, and fatigued. The longer a person experiences great amounts of stress, the greater the likelihood that may lead to impaired judgment, health problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, physical illness), burnout, reduced quality of performance, and overall decrease in productivity. Japan refers to this phenomenon as karoshi. Karoshi means death from overwork, pushing your body past the point of recuperation and the physiological system collapses.
Not only does the stress of feeling as though you do not have much time impact you, but also it impacts our families, other significant relationships, our communities, and our environment. In addition, being overworked, and stressed impacts everyone regardless of race, class, gender, marital status, age, or occupation. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the combined workweek of a two-wage earner home with children has risen to 68 hours, from 59 hours in 1979. Increasing the busyness in our lives makes it difficult to build intimate and nurturing relationships with partners, children, and friends.
What is it about us that we need to be busy and feel productive? Perhaps we believe the myths that if we spend time on ourselves we are selfish or if we are unproductive that is a sign of laziness. In fact, we should be carving out time for rest and leisure. There are benefits of taking care of yourself. Evidence exists that sleep (even a nap) seems to improve performance and productivity. In addition, research has shown that regular physical activity and exercise has marked health benefits: reduction in cardiovascular disease, hypertension, stroke, lowering levels of depression, anxiety, stress, and increasing self-esteem. If we take care of ourselves, we will have energy and enthusiasm to take care of other things.
The change starts with personal choices and responsibilities. Importance exists in learning how to make time for yourself; making self-care needs to be a top priority. In turn, creating space for you to do relaxing and enjoyable activities will impact your relationships, your family, and your overall sense of self. Think about how you may transform your time to better balance self, family and friends, and work. Taking care of yourself one step at a time now can reduce the need to take care of more significant physical and mental health issues in the future.Information on this topic is plentiful! If you are interested in obtaining resources on how to integrate more time for self, family, and friends check out these sources:
www.newdream.org
www.puttingfamilyfirst.info
www.timeday.org
De Graaf, J. (2003). Take back your time: Fighting overwork and time poverty in America. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
Muller, W. (2000). Sabbath: Finding rest, renewal, and delight in our busy lives. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
