The Danger of Optimizing Our Lives

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters” (Colossians 3:23).

I hung a load of laundry on the clothesline today.

There’s nothing remarkable about that. It’s not noteworthy or applaudable; in fact, it’s almost silly to mention it.

But I struggled with the decision to hang that supersized load of whites outside on the first 75-degree spring day. As I stared down into the washing machine filled with toddler unicorn tees, my husband’s undershirts, and my sweaters, the onslaught of excuses began.

It’s a load of whites — I’ll have to wipe the lines extra clean. There’s so many teeny tiny socks in here — hanging them will be so tedious. My delicate sweater … will it get dirty outside? There’s so many other things I need to do — how long will this take? And so on and so forth.

I went out and hung that load of clothes. And I learned a lesson about the things I allow to take priority in my life.

Prioritizing Planning and Productivity

We are wired to prize productivity. It’s not inherently negative; it’s how we reach for success. But it’s also not necessarily being present to the beauty presented to us. It’s a wakeup call when I discover myself subconsciously trying to optimize every aspect of my days.

On my typical hour commute, I listen to podcasts on leadership, content marketing, technology, Catholicism, or holistic wellness. Over lunch, I run downstairs to heat up food, then eat at my desk to afford myself the flexibility to leave work early for the two-hour circle to pick up my daughter and make it home at a decent hour. When I get home, it’s like clockwork; if it’s not, I become stressed. Empty the car and repack the diaper bag. Hope for something in the kitchen that I can whip up for dinner for my husband and me, and proceed to cook it. Wrangle the little one into a bath and pajamas. Scarf down dinner and head into my daughter’s bedroom to rock her to sleep. Emerge and clean up dishes; plan lunches; and, perhaps, decide on tomorrow’s outfit. Get ready for bed, sit on the sofa, and wonder why I’m so exhausted.

We each have our own version of that story. It is any wonder we struggle with the decision to hang a load of laundry outside?

Working at Something With All Our Heart

In the classic book “Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” author Stephen Covey encourages readers to develop a deep introspection and reflection on the ways they conduct their daily lives. Often, the things we urgently accomplish are not important, while the things that hold lasting value are the ones we don’t find time to get around to. This idea can also apply to the spiritual life; by letting unimportant and non-urgent things hold our attention, we neglect the true value of journeying deeper into relationship with God.

We can’t put all our heart into something if we’re doing 14 things at a time. The internal struggle is real, both at work and at home. At work, we’re worried we may seem like we checked out. We’re anxious that we might not respond to an urgent ask that might come across our screen. We think that we might miss out on something while we go off the grid. At home, we don’t see how healthy and homemade food will appear on the table, floors and surfaces and bathrooms will be cleaned, and clean clothes will fill the drawers if we take the time to hang a load of laundry out on the line.

I’ve learned that when I really need to focus on something important at work, I need to close out of Outlook and Teams and either dive into a Spotify playlist or sit outside to feel the breeze and hear the birds. When all my two-year-old wants is the iPhone that takes up almost permanent residence in my hand as I scroll social media or email, I realize it’s my own fault, and I put it away — that is, once I stop procrastinating and making excuses about the host of other things vying for my time and attention.

Determining what is important to us and deliberately put our everything into that work, whether at the office or in our homes, is hard. Keeping ourselves from focusing on what we’re missing out on or what everyone else is doing is surely an exercise in fortitude and contentedness. In trying to be all things to all people at all times, we don’t give our full heart or our full attention.

Valuing Inner Peace

St. Francis de Sales said, “Do not lose your inner peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset.”

I’m a planner, and inner peace can easily be one of the first things I lose on a daily basis. Even when the alternative seems impossible, the list seems long, and the burden seems heavy, we need to strive to cultivate peace and trust in a God who loves us.

Joanna Gaines, of Magnolia and “Fixer Upper,” who shares that giving God her plans resulted in a dream much bigger than her own, once said that each rose in her garden represents a loved one whom she prays for while tending to the flower. It’s a lesson in recognizing opportunity for peace and prayer in the simplest things that bring us peace and joy, rather than planning everything out and racing to optimize our tasks.

Today Is the Day

Decide what you need to do to encourage more peace and joy in your life. Then, go and do it! Let’s start a movement of self-empowerment to do our life’s work with all of our heart.

“You have to decide what your highest priorities are and have the courage — pleasantly, smilingly, unapologetically, to say ‘no’ to other things. And the way you do that is by having a bigger ‘yes’ burning inside. The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good’” (Stephen Covey).

Laura Pugliano is marketing and content strategist at the digital solutions provider Candoris and an alumna of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Along with her husband, she’s working to launch a brand and bottle the olive oil that her Italian in-laws produce in Southern Italy, where she and her family spend summers in the sea, sun, and olive groves. Join Laura on Twitter and Instagram.