Achieving Quiet When You Have a Busy Life

Our topic with The Zelie Group for the month of January is "Quiet". Quiet is often longed for my moms, with many feeling like they never achieve it. I live a very busy life, home with two little kids during the day and dancing or rehearsing at night, yet I still feel like I live a quiet life.

I believe quiet is largely an inner state. My life is busy but it isn't stressful. It's hard but it's not overwhelming. Quiet, for me, is finding that inner balance and healthy mental place. Here are the practical ways I make quiet happen.

Commit to a 20 Minute Prayer Something

A surprisingly large number of prayers and devotions only take 20 minutes. I alternate between praying a rosary, reflecting on the mass readings of the day, and prayer journaling in my prayer time. I've found that I need to treat prayer like an exercise, it's a muscle that gets stronger the more you use it. Just like with my physical workouts, I do better when I vary my spiritual workouts.

Find Your Rest Time

I commit to the first hour of nap time as my rest time. During this time I cannot work on emails, write blog posts, check social media, workout or memorize lines. (During Lent this also becomes a no tech time too.)

This is the single best choice I have made for managing my time during the day. I have the type of personality that really will work non-stop from when I wake up to when I go to sleep. I have to schedule my rest and provide incentives to myself. I only watch my Netflix shows during this time. I will make DIY foot soaks, try out new face masks, make a tea tray for myself, or just listen to a whole music album.

It's the beginning of naptime so if we have a very short nap day rest has happened. I've found rest has to be a priority or it won't happen.

Ask For What You Need

In order to make the space for quiet in a busy life, you have to do some personal discernment to understand what that means for you. Is actual silence a requirement for you? Do you need to leave the house? Do you need a buddy to help keep you accountable for praying or resting? Are there thought patterns and blocks for you to mentally quiet down? If so, can you talk with your spouse, a friend, a priest, spiritual director, or counselor to work out how to break down those mental barriers?

There's going to be some trial and error, but it is worth the effort.

Recoup Your Lost Time

If your struggle is simply finding the time that isn't filled with daily tasks, work on clearing up the time clutter. Is there a way to cut down on laundry or cooking time? You could streamline some of your daily routines or make some set routines. Are you always searching for things? Perhaps it's time to do some purging and organization.

Maybe you get surprised by time. Sometimes an appointment is late, I'm waiting for the bus longer than expected, or I have a 20 minute walk between locations. I always have a rosary in my purse so I can pray on the walk home from the park, and I bring along my current book so I can sneak in a chapter if the opportunity arises. The goal is to have the ability to do the things that mean "quiet" to you when you have the chance to do them. Carpe diem!

Do these things sound helpful to you? What brings quiet into your life? Do you have a totally different definition of quiet from me? I'd love to hear about it!
Post your answer in the comments or link up your own post!



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And here's My Sunday Best: Torrential Downpour Edition!
We're experiencing an "atmospheric river" right now. It sounds like it's going to be fun.

Infinity Veil: Veils by Lily
Necklace: Family heirloom
Dress: Hand me down from a college hallmate
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