When I'm Really Busy: It Isn't a Priority

So I haven't been as adamant about posting in the past few months. Like most people, I'm very quick to chalk it up by being busy with other things in my life. Over the past few months I've looked at multiple ways to incorporate self-improvement. By doing this, it has quickly filled up my schedule to the point that I don't have time to do certain things. Sadly, practicing languages is one of those things that took the hit.

I find this all extremely ironic because I really strive to NOT be busy. My goal is to always allow myself time to keep from overwhelming myself. I value the idea that I typically allow some free time each day to do whatever peaks my interests at the time. Every time that I see something regarding learning Arabic I get envious. I wish I could be able to communicate using it. The problem is that I can easily get wrapped up in the social media platforms (likely one that brought you here) and suddenly the time has been lost. I try to find those small pieces of time throughout the day to practice, but I also need to make sure I dedicate a good focused effort to really make progress. It just can get difficult when you are so busy.

I'm going to change my vocabulary; instead of saying that I'm busy, I will say, it isn't a priority to me. That's because it is true. We like to tell ourselves that we will find time to do things, but there really isn't secret time hidden throughout the day. Instead, we prioritize certain things to take up the 24 hours of our day. I've seen various things take up those hours, but each time I decide what will be a priority. As of late, studying languages has not been a priority for me. I don't really like the sound of that.

Think of the goals, activities, plans, etc. that you would like to incorporate into your life and instead of saying, "I'm just too busy to <activity>" replace it with, "<activity> is not a priority to me" and see how it feels. Exercising and staying healthy is not a priority to me. Staying in contact with a friend who has moved away is not a priority to me. Learning to cook healthy meals is not a priority to me. They don't sound as good than saying you're too busy do they? These are only a few examples, but you can hopefully see the point I'm making; we all have time to do what we want in our day but you have to be willing to sacrifice other things that can eat up your time (watching TV, browsing social media, etc.).

Time to get back on track with this. I really am going to think about making sure I dedicate a little time every day, no matter how long, to review and learn. Sure there may be days that I miss, those days may have something that I have to prioritize higher on my list. The goal is still progress, not perfection. I am happy to currently be on a two day streak of reviewing so let's see if I can keep this up!

Until next time.