\u201cHow are you?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBusy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Especially as high schoolers, it\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But being busy and being fulfilled isn\u2019t the same thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maybe we are a little too uncomfortable with stillness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is more to life than increasing its speed.\u201d \u2014 Mahatma Gandhi<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do we get better at being still?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Try leaving an afternoon, an evening, or even thirty minutes completely open. Don\u2019t immediately make plans just because you have free time. See what you naturally want to do when nobody is telling you what comes next.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sometimes we schedule ourselves so tightly that we never find out what we enjoy doing when we aren’t trying to accomplish something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
2. Stop reaching for your phone every time you\u2019re bored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Waiting for class to start? Sitting in the car? Eating alone? You don\u2019t always have to fill the silence with TikTok or Instagram.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Look around. Think. Listen to music without scrolling through your phone. Notice what\u2019s happening around you. Let yourself be bored for a little while.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Boredom isn\u2019t necessarily something that needs to be fixed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Getting 15 things done in a day doesn\u2019t 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\u2019t proof that your life is meaningful.”<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n 3. Ask yourself what it is that you\u2019re even busy with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having a full schedule doesn\u2019t automatically mean you\u2019re spending your time well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look at what is taking up your time and ask yourself, \u201cDo I actually care about this?\u201d and \u201cAm I doing this because I want to, because it matters to me, or because I feel like I should?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to quit everything or suddenly become a person who does nothing. But if you\u2019re constantly exhausted, it might be worth asking whether everything on your schedule actually deserves a place there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Do something that has no measurable outcome.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Go to the beach without taking pictures. Sit outside. Take a walk. Draw something you\u2019ll never show anyone. Read a book that isn\u2019t for school. Have a conversation that doesn\u2019t need to lead anywhere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Don\u2019t make rest something you have to earn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You don\u2019t have to finish every assignment, respond to every text, complete every task, and accomplish everything on your list before you\u2019re allowed to rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There will always be something else you could do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you treat rest as a reward for finally becoming \u201cdone,\u201d you might never actually get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Getting 15 things done in a day doesn\u2019t 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\u2019t 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\u2019t necessarily a more meaningful one. Sometimes meaning is found when we finally slow down enough to notice what was already there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe we should stop asking ourselves, \u201cHow much can I fit into my day?\u201d and start asking, \u201cWhat is actually worth making room for?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because some of the best parts of life probably won\u2019t make you more productive. They might not look impressive on a r\u00e9sum\u00e9 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maybe the goal shouldn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Pictured: Lucy King PVHS senior writing in her notebook<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Madyson Jackson \u201cHow are you?\u201d \u201cBusy.\u201d Especially as high schoolers, it\u2019s 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…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8903,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[2],"tags":[938,138,378,937],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8896"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8896"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8896\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8907,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8896\/revisions\/8907"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8896"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8896"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pvhstiburon.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8896"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n