Productivity relativism

Person writing down notes on some papers.

Should we be comparing how we manage our commitments? 

Because I am highly sensitive (and a chronic overthinker), I got unnecessarily offended by one of my friends telling me that he was a bit too busy to do something that needed to get done. This was a task assigned to him. He told me that he was struggling with juggling his study, work, and extra-curriculars, and so, like a crazy person, my mind immediately went to "well, why is he more stressed than me? He has more time than me to get these done! And, he doesn't even care about his grades!"

I am not saying that it was right for my brain to go there; I am quite aware that it was a nasty though to have. But it made me reflect on how the ability to handle commitments is relative. 

We have, at least, progressed from the millionaire we-all-have-24-hours-in-a-day mindset to know that everyone's day looks different. We are all dealing with different situations. However, I do not think that societally we acknowledge that some people might find the exact commitments (regardless of a longer or shorter deadline) more or less overwhelming. 

I am often comparing my time management system to others. This often comes out of spite: why do they not have time to do this task, so I have to do it, even though I don't particularly have the time to do it either? And as my fellow people-pleasers know, sometimes we pretend that we can take on something more, even if we know it is not to be the case, in order to keep everyone happy. 

This is silly though. We all are able to handle different loads mentally, and that is okay! Everyone stresses differently so we have to look at it relatively. There should be no judgement. If someone is too busy, they are busy, even if their busy looks less busy than your busy. 

Tagged in What messes with your head