Life can get pretty busy. You don’t need someone to tell you that to realize it is happening. We live it every day; long work and school hours become routine, days blur together, deadlines become the number one thing on our list to accomplish. Life just seems to pass by slowly until we realize another year has snuck past us again. Three hundred and sixty-five days worked away once more. Another year under our belt and gone. The next year about to entail the exact same thing.

It’s time we start asking ourselves, “Am I really living the way I want to be?” Of course, no one wants to be working 24 hours a day, seven days a week. There’s just always so much to do that more and more of our time is dedicated to finishing our work load. But it’s not about the amount of hours you work, but the amount you don’t. When not working, what are some of the things we do when at home? Rest, catch up on some house hold cleaning, take care of financial things, etc. Basically the tasks that we need to keep up with in order to have a functional, semi ordered lifestyle. But after finishing those every day responsibilities, it’s time for the next day to start, and back to the races again with nothing on our minds but the work schedule and all we need to accomplish. It’s easy to get to that point; I understand, I’ve been there. But as I start getting deeper into another busy phase of my life, I’m starting to think about how I want it to play out this time.

As busy as life can get sometimes, there is something important that we cannot sweep to the side: The relationships we have with others. Simple as it may seem, it’s easier said than done. When was the last time you called up that friend you planned to get together with over the summer? Or went and visited a family member you haven’t seen in a while? Or even emailed an old teacher to see how they were doing? How long has it been put off because you were too busy at work or school?

Sure, sometimes it’s not a good time to stop what you’re doing and go catch up with a friend, but life isn’t going to stop being busy, and the years are not going to stop ticking away. Taking time for others does not have to change your whole way of living. It can be little things here and there. Meeting up with that friend on your lunch break, leaving early from work to swing by a relative’s house for a little while, emailing that old teacher while you drink your morning coffee. Little by little, step by step, you will find ways to keep up relationships in your busy lifestyle.

It’s not only important for you, but for the people in your lives. The truth is, we all don’t know how long we have until life splits us in different directions. Time is lost and people fade out of our lives. That’s why it’s crucial now to grab hold of those relationships and make them count. Taking the first step is easy, but maintaining it is all up to you.