Over stretched or overloaded?

[DoggyLady]

it is said that we would never expand our capacity to handle things we do not take on the challenge to handle more things.

i wanted to become better. so i have taken on many commitments.

outside of work, i have 5-6 seperate commitments. two club commitee leadership roles, becomeing a dancer, personal coach and weekly exercise, attending improvement workshops, organising events for my friends, etc

i've no time to date. my family is complaining that i dont have enough time for them. they complain that they have to book my time in advance (which wasn't the case 2 years ago). it forced them to have to plan around me.

i am struggling with all these commitments and sometimes i feel like i am not able to meet the standards i want because my energy is spread thin.

i feel tired and have little time to do little things that are important to me. my toes look terrible. i haven't had time to redo the nail varnish. i really want to look pretty, go to the hair saloon. I want to go shopping and have new shoes. i want to cook healthy food for myself. i want to go for some body treatment. i want to go out and date.

but i have no time. my calendar is crazy. this coming week, i have something on for every day of the week. same filled schedules for the past week, including weekends.

i look tired and aloof and gloomy in office. i dont have the energy to look happy and friendly to my colleagues. i try to be happy but i am not happy.

i'm just trying to do my jobs well, all my responsibilities and commitment.

but oh so tiring.

i ca'nt just drop them out of my life. cos that would be irresponsible.

but i sometimes so wish for the times, when i was carefree and worryfree and don thave to thinkn so much and when i didn't have to rush from one appointment to another. when i didn't have to worry about whether i was doing a good job, when i didn't have to worry abt whether one commitment is affecting another of my commitment.

sometimes i feel envious of my colleagues. i imagine that they can relax and look happy in office, because they don't work as hard as me outside of office.

i'm just pushing on and on. i feel so hardened and pushing on like a machine. wondering when is my next break....

when i have a break, i just rest it off on my bed, but it never feels enough for me.

but i cannot just drop my commitments. it's irresponsible. i'm stuck.


what's wrong ? help me.

[Acting Like Godot]

It's all up to you, DoggyLady. To prioritise what's most important. As you already figured out, spreading yourself too thin means that you may not achieve good results in any one particular area.

Activities that you drop - well, you can always come back to them sometime later. Eg your dance class - if you drop it now, you can start again six months or a year later, depending on what your schedule has become like, at that time.

[Alice Hive]

You're not doing anything "wrong". You're just experiencing the consequences of your lifestyle choices.

I think what you need to understand is that if you don't like your life right now, you can change it - even if you're "committed" to a lot of things. You can change commitments, you know?
It's okay to drop commitments when you find out that they don't serve you.

And also: What about a commitment to enjoy life and be happy? What about a commitment to have time for yourself and your family?