By: Madyson Jackson
“How are you?”
“Busy.”
Especially as high schoolers, it’s probably one of the most automatic answers we give. Being busy has become so normal that sometimes we treat having no free time as an accomplishment.
But being busy and being fulfilled isn’t the same thing.
There’s nothing wrong with having a lot going on. Being involved, working hard, and having responsibilities are all good things. The problem is when we start believing that every empty moment needs to be filled. The second we have nothing to do, we reach for our phones. If we have a free afternoon, we make plans. If we have a quiet car ride, we put something on the radio. If we finally finish everything on our to-do list, we find something else to add.
Maybe we are a little too uncomfortable with stillness.
“There is more to life than increasing its speed.” — Mahatma Gandhi
So how do we get better at being still?
- Leave some time unscheduled.
Try leaving an afternoon, an evening, or even thirty minutes completely open. Don’t immediately make plans just because you have free time. See what you naturally want to do when nobody is telling you what comes next.
Sometimes we schedule ourselves so tightly that we never find out what we enjoy doing when we aren’t trying to accomplish something.
2. Stop reaching for your phone every time you’re bored.
Waiting for class to start? Sitting in the car? Eating alone? You don’t always have to fill the silence with TikTok or Instagram.
Look around. Think. Listen to music without scrolling through your phone. Notice what’s happening around you. Let yourself be bored for a little while.
Boredom isn’t necessarily something that needs to be fixed.
“Getting 15 things done in a day doesn’t necessarily mean you spent the day doing anything that mattered to you. A packed schedule can be a sign that your life is full, but it isn’t proof that your life is meaningful.”
3. Ask yourself what it is that you’re even busy with.
Having a full schedule doesn’t automatically mean you’re spending your time well.
Look at what is taking up your time and ask yourself, “Do I actually care about this?” and “Am I doing this because I want to, because it matters to me, or because I feel like I should?”
You don’t have to quit everything or suddenly become a person who does nothing. But if you’re constantly exhausted, it might be worth asking whether everything on your schedule actually deserves a place there.
4. Do something that has no measurable outcome.
Go to the beach without taking pictures. Sit outside. Take a walk. Draw something you’ll never show anyone. Read a book that isn’t for school. Have a conversation that doesn’t need to lead anywhere.
We are so used to doing things for what we want them to give us that it can feel strange to do something simply because we enjoy it.
5. Don’t make rest something you have to earn.
You don’t have to finish every assignment, respond to every text, complete every task, and accomplish everything on your list before you’re allowed to rest.
There will always be something else you could do.
If you treat rest as a reward for finally becoming “done,” you might never actually get there.
Getting 15 things done in a day doesn’t necessarily mean you spent the day doing anything that mattered to you. A packed schedule can be a sign that your life is full, but it isn’t proof that your life is meaningful. Searching for meaning in the things we add to our life will always come up empty because a fuller life isn’t necessarily a more meaningful one. Sometimes meaning is found when we finally slow down enough to notice what was already there.
Maybe we should stop asking ourselves, “How much can I fit into my day?” and start asking, “What is actually worth making room for?”
Because some of the best parts of life probably won’t make you more productive. They might not look impressive on a résumé or give you something to post. They might just be sitting on the beach until the sun goes down, talking to a friend for two hours, laughing in the car, praying in the quiet, or doing absolutely nothing for a while.
Maybe the goal shouldn’t be to have a life so full that there is no room left in it, but instead to have a life worth slowing down for.
Pictured: Lucy King PVHS senior writing in her notebook
