The Overwhelm

There isn't enough time in a day. You wake up with just enough time to start work. Work eight to five, maybe taking a short break to eat or take out the dog, but who actually can afford the full hour lunch break anymore?

After work, you decide between walking the dog and going to the gym, or maybe the dog park and then the gym, or grocery shopping, or some social obligation, or working late—or some exhausting combination of any of the above.

By the time you finish your after work activities, you realize you need to eat. Hopefully you meal-prepped. Otherwise, it's a thrown-together dinner—or takeout. Again.

Suddenly it's 8 p.m. The dishes still aren't done. Laundry’s half-finished. There are clothes to fold, plants to water, and you still haven’t showered—let alone begun to wind down from the day.

Of course, those are just the normal days.

Then there are the days you have to take your dog to the vet. Or go to the doctor yourself.

Or you suddenly realize it's been six months since your last haircut, but there's no room in your schedule to make an appointment, let alone actually go.

The lawn needs mowed. The ceiling fans need dusted. The bathroom needs cleaned. The kitchen needs mopped. Oh great. Now you have ants.

You've been so focused on all of the above, suddenly you haven't seen any of your friends in almost a month. You should probably schedule in a social interaction.

While you're at it, carve out a time to work on a hobby. What are your hobbies, actually? Do young adults get to have hobbies anymore? Is it a hobby if you have to force yourself to do it? Or schedule it into your day like a chore? Can it still be a hobby if it just exhausts you?

And don't forget to get enough sleep. That's very important.

Of course, when you finish all your tasks and chores, it's after 9pm, so really it's time to get ready for bed, but you haven't had a chance to relax. Sure, that's enough time for an episode of TV or some reading, but when are you supposed to play video games? You haven't been able to play video games in months.

It's also important to stay informed—especially right now. Read some news articles, catch the highlights. Understand what's going on around you...

But don't absorb too much, or you might spiral. If you start to spiral, there's no one to catch you since you live alone. There's no one to pick up your slack. You are in charge of this household, and you're the only one that can keep it running, so you have to find the balance. Stay informed, but don't crack.

At a time like this, you want to show up—go to protests—but you just missed an emergency protest to mow your lawn. Yes, that's right. You had to skip a protest to mow your lawn. You had two activities in front of you and approximately a two hour window with the threat of coming storms...

Did you make the right choice? There probably isn't a right choice.

One might suggest you take some time off work. You have PTO. But they don't know your job like you do. If you take more than a day or two off, suddenly the stress before and after your time off eliminates any relaxation you might have from that time off.

When you're gone, no one replaces you. The work just piles up. PTO is a false promise. A disappointing endeavor.

At just 28, you struggle with an existential crisis. You have so much life yet to live, but will it always be like this? Will it always be this hard?

You love your independence, but recognize the freedom that having a roommate or partner would bring to your life—someone to split the chores and bills.

That's not what you want, but is constant overwhelmment really the price to pay for your true independence?

If prices continue to rise, what then? Will you consider taking a second job after all? Your days are already booked solid, so what do you give up? The gym? Part of your sleep? Your entire weekend? Your clean home? Your friends? Your half-baked hobbies?

What part of your life do you sacrifice next, just to keep your head above water?