Making Myself Less Busy

Calm to soothe the frazzle

Something strange has been happening to me recently. I’ve been busy.

For much of my life, that wouldn’t have been surprising. Working, raising a child, managing family life, and caring for a terminally-ill spouse were all life stages where “busy” was a matter of course. The past few months have been different. Suddenly, I’m a widow with an empty nest. That sounds sad and lonely—and sometimes it is—but mostly, I like having space in my life. Filling every nook and cranny, (both physical and mental) feels stifling.

Literally stopping to smell the roses

For the first month or two after Kevin died, there was too much space. “Unmoored” was the word I used to describe the feeling, and I began to tether myself by creating ties to the place where I live and the community around me. I added regular classes and new friendships. I made appointments and scheduled travel. I tried to do something every single day.

I’m still proud of myself for re-engaging with the world at a time when it was so tempting to remain adrift with my grief, but this week, I was surprised to see how full my calendar had become—and how tempting that made it to lean into being busy and forget how much I still need the space to feel.

What does space to feel look like? For me, it looks like balancing my meditation time between practicing in community and practicing alone. It means setting aside time to journal. It means using tools like tarot cards or workbooks to get new perspectives on my current direction. And it means taking walks.

I am forever recommitting to walking, so I made a video about this month’s challenge to start over yet again. You can watch for the struggle, to see all the ways I bribe myself to keep going, or to experience some of the rewards that came when I followed through. Or all of the above.

Thank you for sticking with me as I wander and come back, again and again, to this quiet place where words flow and perspective comes into focus. What do you find you need to return to? Let’s talk about it in the comments.

And until next time, I’m wishing you love and joy and all those good things,

Jenn

P.S. Keep scrolling for upcoming content!

Coming Soon:

• Next week’s video will be about my forever-quest for a notebook/planner that serves all my needs. Will it work to separate creativity and scheduling? Time will tell. If you have a YouTube account, you can subscribe there and click the notification bell to get an alert as soon as the video comes out. Otherwise, I’ll be sure to link it in your next newsletter.

• The One-Hour Creative Retreat currently happens every Wednesday at 4pm Pacific. Bring your journal, sketchbook, or a craft project you’re working on, and join me for an hour of focus and flow. If you’re not available for the live event, no worries! This link will work for the replay too.

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The subscriber vlog is coming back soon! Look for it in your inbox next month.