When "I'm Busy" Became the Truth and Not an Excuse

We've all done it. We're in our PJs at 7pm on Friday night, munching on a bag of popcorn, and our friend texts "Hey, come hang out tonight". Our response?

"I'm Busy"

In my case, it could have been an invitation to something three days from now, but my current mood states I'm lazy, tired, or grumpy, and therefore

"I'm Busy"

At some point, though, I actually became busy. I stopped enjoying my PJ popcorn nights, and started thriving on productivity.

Let's review a basic week in my current life:

168 hours to spend

-20 hours at work

-10 hours spent commuting to and from work

-9 hours spent on class

-6 hours spent commuting to and from class

-15 hours minimum towards homework

-10ish hours spent volunteering for GEARS

-10 hours dedicated to eating...possibly cooking

-4 hours to exercise with commuting

-2 hours for bathing

-5 hours for household chores, including grocery shopping and other errands

-2 hours of undivided attention to the dogs

-2 hours (yes, that's about it) of undivided attention for the husband

....that leaves about 72 hours for sleep, or 9 hours a night

Now, I don't actually sleep 9 hours a night (I'm lucky if I get past 7), but that's besides the point.

I never really saw a progression of how much less time I was giving myself as I decided to add things to my schedule. Sometimes I feel guilty, as though I need a reason to push aside other plans friends might throw at me.

Then I remember, "I'm Busy" is a reason.

"I'm Busy" doesn't mean I don't want to hang out, it means I can't at the moment. "I'm Busy" is not a hidden message that I don't like you, it just means that in order to make you a priority, I need to get some of my overwhelming tasks out of the way. "I'm Busy" just means that - I'm Busy. It's okay to be busy - especially when it's not an excuse anymore. And I'm glad it isn't.