Less is More

I work with a wonderful woman (a mom to two young kids) who is very clear that less is more.

Often on Fridays, we touch base before we head into the weekend and discuss our upcoming plans. She never says, “Oh, this weekend is a doozie, we have so much going on,” or “my plate is so full, I’ll need a vacation come Monday.” After hearing my plans—which are often busier than I'd like--she usually replies, “We don't have much going on, we're keeping it simple. We like it that way.” And, she does.

I remember years ago hearing life coach Cheryl Richardson say that our quality of life is directly enhanced not by what we put into it, but by what we remove.

Almost everyone I know --even those of us who don’t watch TV, limit online time and frequently say “no” to requests for our time that pull us away from our priorities—describe their lives as varying stages of feeling overcommitted, overscheduled and overworked

If life balance is having enough time, energy and resources for those things that are most important to us (my definition), then as a rule, in today’s overzealous, 24/7, fast-paced environment, we’ll challenged to be vigilant in order to keep things simple. To remember what really matters and to be clear that adding more things to our schedule typically makes us grumpy, not happier.

At the end of your weekend do you ever say “Gosh, I just wish I had done more. The weekend was too unscheduled. Too relaxing. Too easy. I had too much time with my sweet family.” Probably not.

If you’re like me, the best weekends are the ones where I didn’t do much of anything but pull weeds with my family, pop some popcorn, swing in the hammock and visit a bit with our neighbors as we watched the kids play and dusk settle in.

Looking forward to some expanses of unscheduled time this summer. And maybe, if I'm lucky, visiting my old childhood friend, boredom.

JOIN US FOR A RETREAT: Take a mini-career retreat on Saturday, April 10th to learn how to integrate who you are with what you do. And, we have a few spots left for our April 23-25 Refresh, Reclaim, Re-Balance: Women's Self-Renewal Retreat at The Crossings Spa & Resort in Austin, TX, but sign up today to ensure your spot. Or, escape to the cool mountains in August and join us at the beautiful Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in the MA Berkshires Aug. 13-15. One of my favorite spots on the planet!

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The Journey, a blog about coach/author/entrepreneur Renee Trudeau’s personal journey to life balance and living life from the inside out, comes out weekly.

Photo: My one year-old nephew reaches for a flower behind East Side Cafe after a family dinner. A relaxing stroll through their gardens after our delicious meal was one of the simple pleasures of our day.