Feeling Overscheduled?

This past month or so, I’ve seen the glorious free time I had gradually begin to evaporate. First there were grad school classes taking up a handful of hours per week; then there was my regular part-time job, grabbing another five hours per weekday. Then a private tutoring job that will be taking another few hours a week. On top of that, there’s piles of homework and writing projects on a regular basis. It’s amazing how insidious our schedules can be, creeping up on us until we suddenly realize it’s been a full week or more since we had time to ourselves to think, dream, and write.

Do you ever feel overscheduled? Most people do these days, and it can be a real killer to creativity. I’d like to turn this post over to you today, and ask my readers what you do to feel sane and creative when your day is full from dawn to dusk. Do you squeeze short moments of peace into breaks throughout the day? Do you work extra hard so that you can have a solid weekend day of free time? Do you schedule free time into your day, or hope it will come to you?

Ultimately, I do think being busy (within reason) is a good thing. It makes me feel both stimulated and useful, getting work done, making money or helping people, learning or teaching. All of these things contribute to my feeling of well-being and my ability to think creatively when the time comes.