I'm tired of being overwhelmed. What about you?

I started my career just over a decade ago, and like any Gen Y'er, I believed multi-tasking and being as busy as possible were the keys to success. I climbed the proverbial career ladder. I started this blog. I got into social media at a really exciting time, when it was the shiny new industry everyone wanted a piece of.

Somewhere along the line, I burned out. I feel like I've been playing 'catch up' ever since. My emails and to-do lists stay piling up. I'm never getting enough sleep. I always have my mind on 8 million things (which can't be good.) I am always susceptible to making bad food choices in the face of stress. Most of all, I never feel like I'm fully being present in the moment.

I am so, so grateful for all of the opportunities that have come my way, but eventually the whole of it all became more of a burden than a welcome privilege. It would take years (and it's still a work in progress), but I'm finally putting a mark in the sand and saying enough is enough.

I've made 'simplify' my theme for this year, and last month Melody of CRAVE invited me to come speak about living simple at the monthly CRAVEfuel chat. It was an intimate and inspiring talk, and I owe them this recap. I've also been meaning to write an intro of sorts to my year of simplifying. This is why I'm doing it, and I'll be writing through my journey this year.

It feels like society wants us to be big dreamers, but we're also expected to somehow be multi-taskers; to squeeze every moment out of every day towards 'doing.'

Being busy is a badge of honor, but what for?

Why is it not okay to say 'You know what? I'm going home now. I want to read, make a fabulous dinner and cuddle my dog?'" You know what I mean. People tell you it's okay then look at you funny when you leave the office at a decent hour, skip out on happy hour or a night out, or turn down an event even though "it's the hottest ticket in town."

If there's anything I've learned in the past few years of chasing professional, blogging, health & fitness dreams, it's that your downtime is equally important as the time you're in it. Sometimes, it matters even more. It's not Team #NoTime4Sleep or Team #Busy over here. Not anymore, anyway.

This year isn't about piling more and more onto my plate, but about cutting and cutting and cutting back until the only important people, things, goals and ideas are left.

A few weeks into it, I've already done a ton of things I've let slide or would procrastinate on for way too long. For the first time in my life, I've set a budget for myself that I update all the time. I've put more strategy and reporting work into my blog than I ever have before, and have laid the ground for some things I want to do with it this year. I've read a couple of books already. I've logged in tons of sleeping time and time cuddling with my dog.

I feel more intentional and purposeful with my actions and choices more and more every day. Even though it's a work in progress, I've loved every minute of it so far!

What would you like to simplify in your life? Let me know if there's a topic you'd like me to dive into more this year!