Are You Overcommitted? How to Cut Back and Live a Simpler Life – Priorities

Are you stressed out and over-committed? Between work, volunteering, hobbies, sports and leisure, it is easy to book too much in and be constantly on the go without a moment to ourselves. Sometimes we find that we have bitten off more than we can chew and become completely overwhelmed. And when are overwhelmed and overcommitted, we miss the opportunity to stop and experience the world around us.

The commitments that tend to rule our lives may be beneficial, but if we don’t have enough time to take care of ourselves; if we don’t have time to slow down and experience the people and the culture around us, it is too much.

How do you cut back when you realize you have gotten caught up in too fast of a pace, and need a chance to put the brakes on and relax? The first step is to….

Decide on Your Priorities

Just because something is good, doesn’t mean it is good for you. You may be using your time to help others, like volunteering with a charity or on the PTA at your children’s school. But if that is interfering with much-needed family time, or with your marriage, perhaps now is not the best season of your life to be involved.

You may need to re-evaluate your commitment and decide if it is at the top of your priority list at this moment. If not, find a way to scale back or cut it out completely for now. There will likely be plenty of time to revisit your commitment at a later time.

Entering into a new year is a time I find is perfect for re-evaluating what I want to do in the coming year. What activities to be involved in. What locations beg to be explored. What activities do the kids want to do. All of these play into commitments that affect you and your family.

For our family, we find that it is beneficial to step away from the chaos of life and talk about the hard issues of planning the coming year in a more relaxed atmosphere. For us, that is a beach or near the water.