Balancing Friendships
& A Busy Lifestyle
Is it possible to maintain your most cherished friendships all while balancing every other aspect of your life? If it is I am definitely still learning how to and would love to hear any tips you have on being a success at both.
Life can quite easily pass you by in the blink of an eye and before you know it, it's been months since you've spent any genuine, heartfelt, 'putting the world to rights' time with your friends. I realised this far too often last year and since my time off over Christmas and my new Work/Life balance I'm successfully putting into action for 2019, I can see time with friends slowly moving further up the priority list.
Of course I think we have to be honest with ourselves when it comes to maintaining friendships and ensure we focus on the ones that truly change our lives for the better, even in the smallest of ways. And similarly we need to be honest in focusing on friendships with people who understand that a balance between everything in life is honestly never easy, no matter what anyone says!
Inthefrow uses affiliate links. Read the disclaimer for more info.
FOCUS ON THE FRIENDSHIPS THAT TRULY MEAN SOMETHING
It's one of the best feelings in the world to make time for any of our friendships. Especially when we most need some human contact and time away from stresses at work or home, but sometimes in life you do need to be a little cut throat with your time. It's hard enough to get away from work at the best of times, anyone who's self employed or works irregular hours will tell you as much, so taking time out for people who don't improve your mood, just isn't an option. Focus on the friendships that better both of your lives. The friendships that allow you to speak your mind, let you finally relax and leave you feeling a million times better than before you took the time out. 2019 is the year of making time for the people that matter and so far so good!
WORK OUT WHEN YOU TRULY NEED A FRIEND DATE
Whether that's the ability to be organised and book some friend time in way in advance (the only real way I can do it is to get it in the diary ASAP) or realising that it's been too long and clearing an evening for a much needed G&T with a bestie. It's incredibly easy to put time with friends down at the very bottom of our priority list when we're not living that 9 to 5 life, but at what point is moving our social life so far down the list that we're also moving our mental health down with it? My main goal for 2019 is to take better care of myself in every aspect of my life and that rather importantly includes being more aware of when I'm struggling and when I need to take time out. Spending some time with a friend, even if that means on FaceTime, can do wonders for our mindset going forward.
EMBRACE THE IMPORTANCE OF DIGITAL CATCH UPS
It's so true that nothing can compare to a good cuddle with a friend and a night together in your favourite restaurant, but sometimes life doesn't allow us the pleasure and we have to compromise to make the best of what we've been given. I'm lucky enough to have some wonderful friends scattered all across the globe and being able to FaceTime then when I need to switch off from everything is a genuine life line for me and one that I try to utilise often. We often see people discussing the negative effects of social media and the damage is does to our ability to live in the moment but we very rarely here how it blesses us with making our lives and our friendships sustainable. I'm not sure how I'd cope without being able to see my bestie Steph's beautiful new daughter over a call or discuss wedding plans with my bestie Rebecca in Chicago - all hail the iPhone!
ACCEPT THAT PLANS CHANGE
It took me a long while of beating myself up about this but life happens, plans change and there isn't a lot that you can often do about those facts. I've found that my really great friends are often in the same boat as me and we switch and change plans faster than any of us can keep up with but we know each other so well we always know it's never done lightly. So much of life is made more amazing because of the friends that support you over every hurdle and if the hurdles that arise the most are the ones that delay you seeing each other, being on the same wavelength makes for a much smoother journey. Having a group of besties that know that a cancellation or change of plans is part of life and achieving your goals is what is most commonly known as finding your tribe. And I certainly have found mine!
