How Do We Measure a Life?

While talking to my soul sister on the phone earlier this week, I commented that the pandemic has been an incredible nudge toward my ongoing intention of doing “less but better."

(hat tip: Leo Babauta, Greg McKeown)

I mentioned that I'm not running around as much, my schedule isn't filled with as much unnecessary busyness, and that I'm focusing on doing the work I love, with clients who I adore, and that I've dropped some of the other “stuff.”

“I can totally feel that,” she said in return. “We've been talking way more often this year!"

And in that moment, it hit me:

This is one of the ways that I want to measure a life:

In the opportunities to connect with my most treasured friends, family members, and loved ones.

I've been working to ‘untangle myself’ from my calendar for several years. My first indication that something was wrong came several years ago - when another dear friend, who I've known my entire life, asked when we could have coffee.

My first “availability” was eight weeks into the future. I knew in that moment that this was not how I wanted to measure a life. I've been working to make shifts ever since.

It has been a long and imperfect process; I'm aware of my tendency to, at times, conflate my core value of “meaningful impact” with “doing more stuff,” and it's one that I need to consciously check in on over and over again.

A few possible reflections, if this idea resonates for you, include:

From your perspective, how do you measure a life?
A your current actions, commitments, and priorities supporting this way of measuring?
If not, what is one small shift you could make in the upcoming week?