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Saying No
I think I’ve said no to more opportunities in the last month than any other month I can remember. I used to be a person that said yes to everything. If you asked me to do something, or volunteer, or be a part of your organization, I was in! And I really enjoyed doing lots of these different things. But it doesn’t take too long of saying yes to get burnt out. That is why, sometimes, it is ok to say no to things, even if you want to do them.
COVID and quarantine really made me take a step back and realize how busy I had made my life. These last few months, I tried my best to keep busy, but I still came nowhere close to how I was pre-COVID. As school is starting and life is picking back up again, I’ve seen my schedule and busyness start to grow back to how they used to be. But now I am much more conscientious about it. Instead of getting caught up in the momentum of things and always saying yes, I am able to really consider each opportunity and whether it would be healthy to do it. The hardest part about this, however, is that most of these opportunities are things that I want to do. So, in the moment, it is a really hard decision to make, but in hindsight I am almost always happy I said no.
At the end of the day, I think it comes down to priorities. There is one thing that I’ve always had a hard time prioritizing: personal time. Don’t get me wrong, I love my friends, and I love my organizations, and I love all the things I do with both of them, but I have also realized the importance of making time for myself so I can recharge and avoid the burnout.One of the few bright sides of this quarantine is that it really cleared out a lot of people’s calendars and now they have the opportunity to rebuild them and include this personal time.
So that is my challenge to you this week: put yourself in your calendar. Now I don’t mean this literally, unless of course you want to then by all means go for it! All I am trying to say is that as you start to get busy again, make sure that you remember to consider your personal health and energy as you take on more things. Also, I think it is important to note that “personal time” doesn’t necessarily mean time where you just sit alone in your room. Personal time, in this context, refers to time where you can relax and recharge from other things you have going on in life. Maybe for you that is reading a book, or maybe it is going to a casual dinner with friends, but whatever it is - don’t forget about it.
Stay Motivated,
-Dan
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