I don’t have time to write this post, and that’s exactly why I’m writing it

(Kara Oosterhuis/RealAgriculture)

Feeling busy? Join the club.

It’s branding season. A cool drawn-out spring in Western Canada has not allowed for many breaks, and spray season is now upon us. Insect monitoring has begun. Cattle is moving to grass. Yard work never ends. Chemical needs to be delivered. The list goes on.

Did I mention it’s busy? Here at RealAgriculture, too.

We all have things headed in what feels like a million different directions. I have so many timely agronomic schools coming your way, that now have to get off the camera, and onto whatever platform you consume them on. This all takes time.

One of the definitions of busy for me is being back on the road and for my overthinking brain, that means, well, time to think. About all the things I have to do, both in my personal and professional life. Without actually accomplishing most of them.

The to-do list never seems to get shorter. I know many of you can attest to that. I’m sure some of you are saying it never really does.

If you’ve made it this far: you’ve made it to a wellness checkpoint.

Take a breath. Wherever you are. Breathe in and out with me.

I’ve been thinking about writing a post like this for a couple of weeks now, and it keeps going to the back burner, because “there’s always something more important.” Writing is one of my reprieves from my anxiety, so today, as I sat thinking there are not enough hours in the day for what I want to accomplish, I opened a tab and started writing.

Although we all need to prioritize and get done what we need to, we cannot forget about ourselves along the way. I don’t know about you, but an unhealthy, anxious me, gets way less done in a day than when my head feels like it’s screwed on straight.

Walk around that sprayer when it’s filling. If you can — take that 10 minutes to, instead of scrambling to run a piece of machinery and eat at the same time, sit on the steps of it and to really look at your surroundings. Think about your accomplishments while doing this. You’ve likely gotten more done than you realize, and if you haven’t — maybe you need to consider what goals you are setting for yourself.

That’s another thing: goal setting. Let’s normalize setting realistic goals. Realistic goals can still push us — but allow yourself to be okay about not getting everything done.

As always, I’m not an expert on any of this. I’m just here trying to figure this all out, too.

I took the 15 minutes out of the day to do this as I knew it would help me. Now, I’d like to ask something of you, the reader.

Pay that 15 minutes forward to you. However you need it. Spend 15 minutes this week or weekend doing something for you.

Last, but not least, during these overwhelming times, remember the resources that are out there to help. And as John Fleming said, “You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

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