How NOT to Live an Overloaded Life

 How NOT to Live an Overloaded¹ Life

There is a sad fact in this world we live in. Many people live overloaded lives. They have so many activities and responsibilities that they often feel exhausted². They live from paycheck to paycheck with no room for unexpected expenses. And they keep spending their emotional and physical energy with little or no time to restore it.

There’s a book related to it entitled Margin³. The book argues that many people fill their lives up to the capacity, be it in term of energy, finance, or time. As a result, their lives are no longer in balance. They might seem "productive" in one or two areas of their lives, but the other areas of their lives suffer. They might have a good career, for instance, but their health and relationships suffer.

This, of course, is not a good way to live. So what can we do to avoid such a situation? What can we do to keep our lives in balance? I agree with the book’s advice here:

Give margin to your life in the form of emotional, physical, financial and time reserves

Don’t fill your life up to the capacity. Give yourself margin. Give yourself space to breath. You might not achieve as much as other people in the short term, but you will live a happier and more enjoyable life in the long term.

Here are eight things you can do to give margin to your life:

1. Trim your commitments

You might want to do many things, but the fact is you can’t do everything you want. Trying to do too much will only deplete⁴ your physical and mental energy. Not only that, it might also take time away from your relationships.

So, instead of taking everything that comes your way, use the 80/20 rule to choose only the most essential ones. If you already have too many commitments, go over them and trim the non-essential ones. Learn to say no without feeling guilty.

2. Set boundaries

Don’t fill up your time with work. Set boundaries. For example, you might decide not to touch your work above 6 p.m. so that you can focus on your family. Or you might decide to take one or two days off every week. Everyone has different situations, so set the boundaries that work for you.

3. Spend less than you earn

This is a basic principle of personal finance but it’s an easy one to forget, especially in this age of credit cards. Credit cards make it easy for people to spend money they don’t have. As a result, many people fall into financial troubles.

The first thing you need to do is tracking your spending. The reason is that it can give you understanding of how you actually spend your money.

After that, you can take action to control your expenses. Remove unnecessary expenses. Find cheaper ways to do things. This requires sacrifices but it’s good for you in the long term.

4. Build an emergency fund

Again, this is a basic principle of personal finance. You need to build an emergency fund for unexpected situations so that you can handle them when they come.

There are different opinions about how big an emergency fund should be, but make it at least three months’ worth of your (and your family’s) living expenses.

5. Make time to exercise

Exercise can boost your personal energy and keep your energy level high throughout the day. So make it a habit to exercise, either by yourself or with a friend. You will be more productive and less stressed as a result.

6. Have enough rest

Your body needs enough rest to function properly. Therefore don’t sacrifice your sleep time for work or any other activities. Make sure that you get 6 to 8 hours of sleep every night.

7. Pray or meditate⁵

Doing this can boost your mental energy and give you peace of mind. You can then think more clearly and stay calm throughout the day.

8. Make quality time for relationships

Your relationships are great source of mental energy. Not only should you make time for them, but also you should make sure that it’s quality time. Give your full attention to the people you are with. Let them feel that you appreciate them.

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What do you think? Do you have other tips to give margin to someone’s life?

1 overloaded   

a.超载的，超负荷的

参考例句：

• He's overloaded with responsibilities. 他担负的责任过多。
• She has overloaded her schedule with work, study, and family responsibilities. 她的日程表上排满了工作、学习、家务等，使自己负担过重。

2 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

3 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

4 deplete   

v.弄空，排除，减轻，减少...体液，放去...的血

参考例句：

• Most native mammal species have been severely depleted.大多数本地哺乳动物的数量都已经大大减少了。
• Elastic collisions deplete very little of the electron's energy.弹性碰撞中电子减少的能量非常少。

5 meditate   

v.想，考虑，（尤指宗教上的）沉思，冥想

参考例句：

• It is important to meditate on the meaning of life.思考人生的意义很重要。
• I was meditating,and reached a higher state of consciousness.我在冥想，并进入了一个更高的意识境界。