Are you chronically busy? Do you go to school and hold a job (or several)? Are you overly involved on campus? Do you have a semblance of a social life? Are you constantly having to prioritize and re-prioritize your to-do list? Do you have a tendency to overextend yourself? Do you sometimes feel like your friends just don’t understand? Are you The Busy Friend?
We hear ya. The following is a list of some of the things that your fellow Busy Friends can identify with. If you're not The Busy Friend, hopefully this list gives you some insights into the mind of The Busy Friend in your life.
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1. Scheduling everything. I mean, everything. You forget to schedule cushion time for a bathroom break? Bummer. Your whole day is thrown off.
2. You have been so deprived of purely social interactions that when you finally do make it to that hang-out you scheduled two weeks ago and your friends are busy playing "Candy Crush" instead of being super present in this awesome, once-in-a-month quality friendship moment, you get unreasonably angry.
3. Or the opposite. You finally have a moment to chill with friends, but it is only going to last so long and you’re the one too busy for the present. Remember how you haven’t called your grandma in three years? The to-do list you made seven minutes ago needs updating. You have not casually scrolled your Instagram/Facebook etc. allllll day. If you’ve been there, you know what I mean.
4. When you explain how busy you are, and people tell you to “just do less”, and you’re like “I CANNOT JUST DO LESS. THIS IS MY LIFE. I DO THIS MUCH. THIS IS HOW MUCH I DO” and they still don’t get it. I mean, sure, you could maybe cut out your one hobby that allows you to be a sane and functioning human. And yeah, you could probably eat more top ramen and less actual food, saving on the amount of hours spent working and the amount of prep time. Sure, you could spend less time sleeping - who needs a solid 4 hours anyways?
5. When you have a sudden opening in your schedule and become the most spontaneous person. You’ve got 27 free minutes and you’re up for anything. Where da crew?
6.You calculate the exact amount of minutes you will be able to sleep if you fall asleep now. How many REM cycles is that? 1.5? Awesome. If anyone interrupts your precious sleep, they might as well have woken a hibernating bear.
7.When Friday rolls around you can do nothing but fall into bed in exhaustion. Cue comments from friends about how you’re totes antisocial and why don’t you ever go out anymore.
If you can identify with more than a few of these, you may just be The Busy Friend. Maybe it’s time to cut back on a few of your extracurriculars; maybe it’s time to start slimming down your friend group to the people who really matter to you. Trust me, I know the struggle of having to limit your activities and prioritize your passions. But even just making a small change can have a big impact on your schedule, energy level and social life.
