I’m back from visiting family in Illinois and I’m feeling much more rested and rejuvenated. The downtime wasn’t really all that long (about a week and a half), but it was more than long enough for me to catch up on some sleep and do some offline stuff that has me more convinced than ever that I need more balance in my life.

When I’m stressed, it’s easy to think that huge, drastic steps must be taken to fix things. However, now that I’m more rested and have some perspective, I think if I can make just some small changes that enable me to do something fun each week and take better care of myself, it will have a large enough payoff and not drain too much time from an already strained schedule. More on the how to do this later.

For now, here’s a quote from David Allen’s book, Ready for Anything. Allen is quoting Lin Yutang, who stated:

Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials.

What is non-essential for me?
I don’t have a huge list yet. I’m going to try and identify time drains and remedy the situation.

What’s essential for me? I need to place more emphasis on working out and eating smaller portions of healthier foods. Plus, I need to add in daily prayer and meditation.