Sunday, February 16, 2014

Un-Busy

I've heard it said that if you want something done, give it to a busy person.



That's definitely true of myself. When I get into the "groove" I can take on 10 new projects and still function relatively normally. I am super productive. I remember back when I was finishing my degree in Bible College, I decided to run for city counselor, while I was running 2 different youth groups 150km apart. I just did it. No biggie. But if I have few things on the go, and plenty of free time I tend to become much less productive in terms of input to output. I get lazy.

Right now I am trying to find the best mix. Work keeps me very busy. I spend about 50 to 60 hours a week doing my salaried job. In addition to that I have all my other responsibilities, both income related and things I've committed myself to, like writing up a friend's business plan, helping someone move, playing guitar for worship at C&C, youth group, etc... Three and a half years ago, I wouldn't have had anything besides work fill my schedule. Church wasn't really on the radar. I was very free, but very unproductive and very unfulfilled.

However, I work so that I can live my life outside of work. My extra curriculars need to be a part of who I am or else they just become work too. And soon, all I am doing is work, not life. I know some people who live to work, and I don't want to end up like that. It may have taken me 34 years to figure out, but money is not everything. It seems the biggest decisions I've made in my life the last few years have been to live a better life at the expense of a better income. And, surprisingly, I'm ok with that. I work to live, not the other way around. I have a friend who is a dentist. I have another friend who is a pilot. Both have the opportunity to make a lot of money. One friend works all the time, and focuses on the 2 weeks a year when he gets to blow all his money on a 5 star vacation somewhere warm and exotic. The other friend, doesn't work nearly as much, makes much less than his potential, but has time for friends, family, reading, sleep, music, God, smelling the roses... After much consideration, I realize I want to be like that second friend. I am just trying to figure out how to bridge that gap. I would readily take a reduced salary from work if it meant I could work less. However, that doesn't seem to be an option. That has caused me to re-evaluate a lot of things lately.

My goal is to un-busy my life. I'm not sure how it will all take shape but that is the direction I am heading. There are some things I want to be more involved in, and they require me to be less busy in other areas. There are other things I want to be less involved in, to make room for other things. It will be interesting to see what my life looks like when the dust settles.

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