A quiet day. Ah.

The whole thought of it conjures up visions of sunny windows, hot coffee and pancakes, reading a book in a comfy chair.

And yet, most people these days have a quiet day so rarely that they don't know what to do when one suddenly appears.

Even rarer is the person who can plan to have a quiet day to restore the spirit and renew their energy before they are called upon to handle the next flurry of errands, household chores, email, and general mayhem. You, dear user of Life Balance(TM) software, are among the fortunate few.

Be mindful of the others out there who are not so lucky. For them, well intentioned efforts to achieve a healthier work/life balance gradually become less about living a balanced life, than about shoveling tasks out of the way to make room for more tasks. Often these tasks are haphazardly chosen, and don't add up to be all that gratifying because little thought has gone into why they are being done in the first place. Flailing around in a rush may seem satisfying in the moment, the way a person experiences an adrenaline rush of joy in the moment they realize they were not just been squashed flat by a falling tree.

But rushing around in a frenzy is sometimes also a way to cover up for real change. "I'm too busy to....", "Can't right now, I'm on the way to....", "Oh, I'm exhausted from all this rushing around, so I couldn't...." And so it goes, that many people put off tackling the big projects that would really make a difference for themselves, their families, and their communities and the rest of the world out there.

A quiet day is not a luxury, but a prerequisite for thought. And more than that, thought is a prerequisite for effective action. A quiet day can be the perfect time to do mechanical tasks, simple chores that you can do on "auto pilot." Choose tasks which let an idea seep into your mind while you aren't looking. Think of tasks that take a while, where you need to get a little rhythm going. Ironing is good, and you'll look snappy when you are done.

A quiet day can be the perfect time to fall in love with your vision of the future. That vision will sustain you through the inevitable grunt work. Guide your daydreams so that they are more than idleness, and they will help you imagine the future outcome for actions you will soon take. A quiet day can be the perfect time to learn who you really are, if you care to find out. So, don't be too quick to fill the day with tasks that you feel push your agenda ahead. Working lots of overtime may leave you depleted and sap your energy. It may end up being counter productive. Remember that there are occassions when a time out would serve your needs better.

So, as we head into a holiday weekend, and you are rushing off in a blaze of efficiency through the grocery store to get stuff done before your family arrives, keep in mind that life is kept in balance also through connection to others, that your heart needs to get a word in edgewise, and the morning sun on a quiet day is still worth waking up to see.

Seize the day, yes. But also, seize that comfy chair...

Copyright @ 2008, Catherine E. White, permission is granted for this article to be redistributed and shared with others in its entirety as long as links and attribution are maintained.
Catherine E. White is president of Llamagraphics, Inc. developer of the Life Balance software. Life Balance provides a structure for your goals, projects and tasks that is priority driven, so you can to make better decisions about how to use your discretionary time. To learn more, please visit http://www.llamagraphics.com/