Today we welcome back to the blog our teammate Jaime Hlavin. Jaime opens up about the fast pace of her current season, and what she’s doing to fight back against the vicious cycle of “busy.” Enjoy ~ John

“The hurried life is a harried life.” ~ John Opalewski

Have you ever listened to a podcast or read a great article and thought, “I’m definitely going to implement this!” And then suddenly it’s a month later and you’ve violated every point the author made? Back in the beginning of June, two very wise men by the names of John and Jim dropped an episode in the Leading From Alignment podcast called “Eliminating Hurry.” At the risk of sounding overdramatic: That episode was inspired. I nodded vehemently in agreement and took fast and furious notes, only to one month later, find myself frantically trying to be in three places at the same time this morning for the fifth time since first hearing the podcast.

Since that episode dropped, I’ve hurried from seven graduation parties (one of those planned and executed by yours truly) to one commencement ceremony to ten softball games to one fundraising gala. Additionally, three doctor appointments to one week of softball camp to one veterinarian appointment to one week spent in Springfield, MO for a Missionary Commissioning event to one week at one of our Network’s family camps to four Sundays ministering at different churches to one emergency dentist appointment for a child’s cracked molar and all the logistics of sharing two cars between three drivers.

All of a sudden, as I sat to down to pen this blog, I had the horrible realization that I’ve hurried my way through half of the last summer my daughter has home before she leaves for college. And the weight of conviction lays heavily on my chest. So, I quickly pulled the notes up from the podcast and did some recalibrating.

Let’s review some of John and Jim’s recommendations for eliminating hurry. (To hear the original podcast and more detail on points 2 and 3, click here.)

1. Understand limitations

2. Understand first love

3. Understand leverage

I want to camp out on that first point because I’m fairly confident that’s the one I demolished this past month: Understand limitations.

What is the hook of hurry? I would contend that the bulk of “hurrying problems” stem from the perspective that we can do it all. The hustle culture in which we exist exacerbates this problem to a great degree. Everyone is busy, frazzled, and seemingly proud of it. It’s almost embarrassing to be able to claim “My schedule is wide open” or “I’m super flexible.”

Also, if we don’t get a handle on grasping our limitations, those limitations will make themselves abundantly clear when things start falling apart. Emotions will feel out of control. Tasks will be completed haphazardly and with a lack of excellence. Important dates and events will get overlooked. Health issues will creep up.

Above all, a huge part of gaining ground here is becoming content with not being able to do everything – and doing so without guilt or embarrassment. If you’re struggling to understand your limitations, it may be important to put a few practices in place to begin learning:

Practice 1: In the midst of hurry, intentionally say “no” to things

Without feeling guilty. Without trying to jump through hoops to make it happen. And without explaining why you can’t do something . . . say an appropriate “no.”

Practice 2: Schedule blank space on your calendar

Literally leave chunks of time open and do not let yourself put something in that slot. Make appointments with yourself to do . . . nothing.

Practice 3: Take time to just do something boring and mindless.

Go for a walk (without multitasking – no phone calls, no replying to texts/emails, no listening to a podcast). Go fishing. Drink a cup of coffee on the patio and stare at the sky.

As I slam on the brakes and intentionally understand and adjust my limitations, I’ll take the next weeks to eliminate the hurry from my life. Here’s hoping you’ll take the opportunity to join me. If you want to unpack your struggle with hurry, reach out to us here.

We’re rooting and praying for you!

Jaime