By Dawn Onley

I can’t ever recall being this busy. In. My. Life.

In my “spare” time, I’m planning a wedding, still adjusting to a temporary move while slowly beginning the process of looking for a permanent one, co-writing this blog, and being mommy to a toddler boy, to name a few items.

I’ve always been busy. It’s in my DNA professionally, and even personally. I have to always have my hands in the pot, cooking up something. But even for an active person like me, this year has loaded every carb, veggie, meat and dessert on my plate – sometimes at the same time.

I talk to my friends and they are super busy too. Everyone is consumed with work-related and family-related busyness. We have all become overloaded with obligations and are finding it increasingly tough to eke out some time to relax and unwind.

My heart is palpitating just thinking about it all.

When did we get so busy? And where did this mound of dirty clothes come from? As soon as I finish one load, I turn around, and like Whac-a-Mole, there’s another load, and another one.

I remember going bowling, frequent dinner dates, enjoying trips to the theater, yoga at least twice a week, once-a-month massages. I recall three-hour-long phone conversations with friends to get caught up, even sleep-overs where me and my girls literally laughed ourselves to sleep.

The last book I read was in June.

Now everything seems so rushed. We have the latest technology gadgets and apps, but none of it seems to be helping us maintain saner lives. If anything, it’s creating more things to juggle. I now decompress by scrolling social media sites and catching up on newspaper and magazine articles I’ve bookmarked to read. Not to mention the stack of magazines lying near my bed. So much to do, so little time.

I know I sound like I’m complaining, but I’m really not. I love my life – even when I’m insanely busy. I’m a card carrying member of the “I’ll slow down when I’m dead” club. I’m not sure I’d even know what to do with bountiful free time, I’ve grown so accustomed to my busy life.

Still, it doesn’t have to be so black and white. I need to strive for a happy medium. A nice start would be better managing my time in the mornings so I can get back to morning meditation; add 15 minutes to my walk and to time it so that when I come back from the walk, I have time to shower and drink my morning cup of coffee before logging in to work; to schedule a massage; to go and see a play or concert. I miss doing these things on a regular basis.

I know that in order to manage my mornings better, I need to start going to bed much earlier. I’ve always been a morning person, but it’s funny how going to bed a few hours later in the evening changes all of that.

At times I feel like a machine. I wonder if I could completely shut down for a week or so with no access to any type of technology to refocus – like taking a vacation away from my routine.

I’m going to give it a shot very soon.