I feel that on the spectrum of over-committing and under-committing yourself to whatever it is we’re doing in life; we always seem to slide closer to one end of the spectrum. While leaning a little to one side or the other is fine, sliding too far down one end can be detrimental.

I, myself, tend to make it so that when I’m busy, I’m REALLY busy. But when I have free time, I tend to have absolutely nothing to do. This is something I’m trying to fix and hope that in my analysis of commitment, you may find an interesting aspect of this too.

I want to start off by saying that it’s a really great thing to get out of the house and plan events with friends or work colleagues. It’s important to find that work-life balance that everyone keeps talking about and make your time useful.

Staying at home, being by yourself and lazing around is awesome but it needs to be done in doses. Whether you’re an introvert or an extrovert, it’s important to be both social and also have some time to yourself. While being a hermit may seem very appealing, you’ll feel much better getting up and going somewhere. Take me for example, today is my day off, so instead of writing my blog post in my room and probably not leaving the house at all, I’ve decided to sit at my local park and write this post out in the sun. Not only will it maybe make me less pale than I currently am but I now feel like I’ve had a (semi) productive day. You don’t have to organise a luncheon or anything spectacular, sometimes just sitting in a park can be nice.

On the flip side, it is also integral to know that you are allowed to say no to people. Just because someone invites you somewhere or asks you to do something, that doesn’t mean you have to say yes. It’s also important to weigh up what you have on and whether or not you can make another commitment. By over-committing yourself you then have no time to spend alone, and alone time is healthy, it will also affect your stress levels and probably your sleep.

It is important to consider what is best for you. There are necessary commitments, whether that be work or school but outside those, it’s really up to you. If you’re hanging out with the right people, they’ll understand that you’ve had a big week and just want to stay in or will be happy to grab lunch with you.

Really it’s all about balance, but no-one is ever going to live a perfectly balanced life so there’s not really much pressure to get it right, thank god. It’s more just about looking after yourself both physically and mentally and knowing the limits you can reach before one of them in jeopardized. I certainly don’t have the whole work-life balance thing right yet but I’m trying, it’s also why I’m sat in a park in the middle of the afternoon for no real reason.

I tend to write these posts then get to the end and reassure people that I have no psychology degree or incredible insight into how we should live our life but that this is just me stumbling my way through life, similar to a newborn giraffe trying to walk, and sharing some insight that I have gained that may just be useful to someone else.

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Words and Pictures by Nicole Dickson