Organizational psychologist, Adam Grant, recently posted about the sweet spot for satisfaction in life. He wrote: “Being too busy can make us unhappy, but so can being too idle. New data (shows that) life satisfaction in the U.S. peaks at about 2.5 hours of free time per day. Time poverty fuels stress and burnout. Time abundance undermines purpose and progress. The sweet spot is time affluence: having enough.”
Indeed, you've heard me say it before; the trick to staying consistently energized is to strive for balance between the demands you face and the capacity to meet those demands.
But let's be honest, it's a struggle.
Maintaining the right balance of commitments requires a tremendous amount of foresight. Most of us toggle between craving simplicity and wishing for more.
Source: Every Day People Cartoons by Cathy Thorne
A few questions to consider:
Looking back at the last week, what was your average number of hours of free time? Are you experiencing time poverty, time abundance or time affluence?
What commitments can you prune or what activities might you initiate to get to the sweet spot?
If you are adding activities, is there a way to build incrementally to ensure you aren't overcommitting?
If you are subtracting activities, how will you celebrate your commitment to time affluence instead of feeling guilty?