Early this spring, I started feeling weighed down by constant anxiety. I had so many things on my mind that I couldn’t seem to find any peace.
There was always something I was “stewing” about:
- Continuing to grow my marketing business of 7 years
- Writing blog posts and building a community on social media for Defeating Busy
- Spreading the word about my newest project, being a Beachbody coach
- Working with my daughter on her speech delay
- Investing more effort into my marriage
And as a stay-at-home mom, it’s not exactly like I have a ton of free time, which won’t be changing anytime soon since we’d like to have more kids.
Ultimately, something had to give. I couldn’t continue this madness, especially when the entire message of this blog is simplifying life and overcoming busyness. So I stepped away from as much as I could– promoting my marketing business, doing anything blog or Beachbody related and tackling any home projects. I spent the extra time reading nonfiction and fiction books about simple living, including The Happiness Dare and Magnolia Story, listening to podcasts about minimalism and taking courses on making room to breathe. I began to crave margin.
I thought margin was just free time, until I read this by Amy at Encouraging Moms at Home:
“Reading a great book is not really margin. Reading a great book is more of an escape. You get away from your place and forget who you are and live in someone else’s moment. And trust me, I have enjoyed my fair share of fictional reading material. I’m not saying books are bad. I’m just saying books are a fabulous break — but that’s not margin.
Taking a walk is not always margin. If your walk is filled with thoughts about the cares of this world and the cares of your day, that’s not margin. You can certainly purpose to have margin on your walk but that’s just the thing. In order to experience margin you have to purposely step away mentally from all the stress. All the stuff. Let it go.
If you do not have time for margin, you are doing too many things.”
I had too many things. And if I really want a simpler, margin-filled life, it’s time to let go.
So what does that mean for the blog? This message of simpler, intentional living is important. But all that goes into growing a blog is overwhelming. So my compromise is to continue sharing my journey of simpler living with you on the Defeating Busy Facebook page and focus on building a community for like-minded women there. Join me there if you haven’t already. Let’s pursue a simple life together.
