Never be too busy for yourself
When I first went off to college, my mom left me with this sage advice.
“If you are ever too busy to care for yourself, then reevaluate what you are doing. Immediately.”
There is a tactic listed by Holden DeSalles in “19 Things To Stop Doing In Your 20s”, that attests to this mantra. In order to be the most productive person possible, DeSalles claims that being “busy” should never get in the way of being healthy or productive.
“Stop being lazy by being constantly ‘busy’,” DeSalles said. “It’s easy to be busy. It justifies never having enough time to clean, cook for yourself, go out with friends, meet new people. Realize that every time you give in to your ‘busyness,’ it’s you who’s making the decision, not the demands of your job.”
This sounds easy enough; prioritize the most pressing tasks you need to complete, but never be afraid to put yourself first. It is also something that college student struggle with daily. Sophomore Alex Biskelonis knows the struggle all too well.
“The worst thing I do is that I justify procrastinating by doing something else productive,” Biskelonis said. “If I have to do laundry, I will work on a homework assignment due in two weeks. If I have to take out the trash, I’ll call my mom instead. I make myself too busy to take care of the most pressing issues.”
But being a college student, stress and partying takes its toll. According to sophomore Diego Garcia, there is often a tradeoff between being having the social life you want, and the academic standing your parents want.
“Sunday mornings are the worst for me. They are also the times when I have to do the most things [academically]. I mean, I like to go out on Saturday nights, but it always seems to come back and bite me. So I definitely think there is a bit of a trade-off there.”
There is always a process of prioritization when it comes to productivity. The smartest people know what they need to do to put themselves first, and work their way from there.
There are also blurred lines between productivity and relaxation. For sophomore Mark Blackman, the key to productivity is finding a golden mean between taking care of yourself, and taking care of your responsibilities.
“I mean, sleep is a vital part of remaining healthy,” Backman said. “If you get sick, it’s hard to remain productive. So a nap may seem like a sign of laziness, but if its well-earned, it’s a preemptive step to productivity.”
Being too busy to make progress as a person is the essence of counter-productivity. More than that, it’s a fast-track to an early grave. Blackman thinks that the best way to avoid getting caught up in a self-destructive grind is to always put your well-being at the center of your plans.
“I mean, my goals in life are to be happy and healthy,” Blackman said. “Whenever one of those two are not met, I need to step back from whatever I’m doing for a bit. Not for forever, but long enough for me to put myself back in the center. Personally, I do it by fishing.”
