March 14, 2015 I’m too Busy!! Help!! Hi Brandon! I’m so busy I’m about to go nuts. I have hockey, karate, guitar lessons, soccer, and swimming. My parents are proud of my accomplishments and I really enjoy all of my activities, but lately I’m about to lose it. What can I do to keep my sanity! Tired of Being Tired Teen Dear Tired of Being Tired Teen, Wow, you literally have a different activity for every weekday. I can understand why you’re about to go nuts! On the plus side, it gets you out of shoveling snow – if I didn’t live with two fragile, elderly people, I would have loaded up my afterschool schedule this winter as well! But, I bet you don’t have any time to play video games, mess around online, and just sit around chilling out. Those things might sound like they’re not important, but they actually are. You can’t be busy twenty-four hours a day. No one can. We all need time to unwind, and a little of it every day. That’s why we have Nickelodeon, Minecraft, and the movie theatre! I’m guessing you feel guilty about quitting any of your activities, since your parents are so proud of you, and you might not know which one to stop, since you like them all. Maybe you should keep taking guitar lessons, since the other ones are all physical, and then eliminate your least favorite of the sports. And, if you still feel like you’re doing too much, you could quit your second least favorite, too. I’m sure your parents will understand if you tell them you’re getting a little burned out. They might even secretly be glad. They’re probably spending an awful lot of time and money on your crazy busy life – and when it comes to stuff parents always want more of, time and money are at the top of the list! Keep in mind that because you stop doing something now, that doesn’t mean you have to stop doing it forever. For example, if you stopped swimming now, you could maybe do some kind of class over the summer, since you’ll be out of school then. Or, maybe you’ll decide instead to see how many things you can do during the summer that you’d never put on a college application, like relaxing on the beach, watching funny cat videos on YouTube, and arguing with your buddies about the best quarterback ever. If anyone’s earned a nice, long break, it’s you! I hope this helps!