Overbooked.

So many of my friends created New Years Resolutions that involved spending time with quality friends rather than a larger quantity of friends. So often, we are invited to such-and-such happy hour, or a fundraiser with 4500 of our closest friends at a large venue, or this, that and the next thing. And all of the sudden, my week is jam-packed without spending any time with my closest friends. But that's okay, because I'll see them on the weekends, and they'll be around next week, too. Networking with my colleagues will not be around next week!

Then, next week rolls around and, oh crap. More networking. More stupid happy hours with not a single person I know. My friends will still be around, rest assured, but at this point, they're starting to wonder where I've been. They're starting to tell me I'm overbooked.

That was my calendar in January 2011. Do you notice that there is nary a weeknight when I didn't have something planned? And those are just the things that I actually planned for, and nothing that came up spontaneously like a friend breaking up with her boyfriend and needing immediate consoling, or last minute babysitting jobs. Needless to say, life is busy.

But...unlike many of my friends who's goals were to spend quality time with their #1's, I feel like I already accomplished that. I have found myself realizing lately that if I make effort to spend time with people, it means they are really important to me and I value their friendship and I am choosing to make time for them.

My challenge to all of you is to do the same. Make time for the people that matter the most. You'll be amazed at how little stress you feel even though you are just as booked, and the emotional rewards will far outweigh anything else!