K.I.S.S.: Keep It Simple Sometimes

By KCY

This morning I was late. Nothing new. It seems like every morning is crazy. Wake up. Get the kids ready for school. Get their schoolbags ready. Get my work bag ready. Hop into the car and drive them to school, then drive myself to work. By the time I enter my office every morning I’m already exhausted. And the day hasn’t even started yet.

Sound familiar? Probably all too familiar, because it’s your morning, too.

As I put my things away and plot down in the office chair in front of my computer, my mind races through the millions of tasks I have to do today. Work tasks, home tasks, kids tasks, me tasks. My morning passes quickly. Busy as usual. 

I stand up from my desk and stretch. How am I going to get through the day? My water bottle beckons me from the corner of my eye, reminding me that I’d failed to drink even one of the eight cups of water recommended daily. I decide to take a break and fill it up at the cooler before I settle down for a working lunch at my computer.

On the way back, a colleague catches my eye and gives a little wave through her open office door. I hesitate. Should I go in? I’m swamped.  The thought of losing even a few minutes of work time makes me cringe.

“Are you going to eat lunch?” she asks, craning her neck toward me. 

“Yeah,” I say, “I’ve got a ton of work to do. I’m feeling so tired and overwhelmed. There never seem to be enough hours in the days.”

“I totally get it,” she says. She, too, works full time and has kids, so I know she isn’t just saying that to make me feel better. “Why don’t you sit down for a second? You’re looking a little frazzled. Take a breather.”

I glance at the door, feeling my inbox fill up with more messages as I stand in her office.

She must notice the look on my face. “It’s okay. Those messages aren’t going anywhere. Let’s take a break.”

I plop down in the chair next to her desk reluctantly.

“So, what’s been going on?” she asks. 

“Not too much. Just work as usual. You know how busy it gets around here. Somehow this week it feels even busier,” I say. 

“Let’s not talk about work anymore. We need to give our minds a break!” she announces. “So,” she lowers her voice, “have you seen the latest Keeping Up with the Kardashians?”

I blink hard. Kardashians? She wants to talk about the Kardashians? Who cares about them? It’s fake reality T.V. I can feel the work continue to pile on in my office.

She looks at me expectantly. Not wanting to disappoint her, I reply, “Nah, I don’t watch the show anymore. I haven’t watched it in years, but I do read the blogs.” I decided to play along. “Can you believe the little one is a billionaire? She looks like seventeen going on forty.”

She laughs and proceeds to tell me what last week’s episode was about. I feel my body relax as we talk. It actually feels good to talk about something so silly. Even fun! We chatter for a bit, turning to other reality shows.

She looks at her watch. “Lunch is almost over,” she says. I look at my own watch. Thirty minutes have passed. We’ve talked for thirty minutes about reality T.V. I know I should feel sorry I’ve wasted that time, but, somehow, I don’t. Our little silly talk has given me more of a jolt of energy than a double expresso.

“Thanks for the chat,” I say sincerely. “I needed that.” 

I head back to my office energized and work for the rest of the lunch hour. I feel quicker and more efficient than I have all day. I am glad for our discussion about less serious topics.

We all spend our lives rushing from one place to another. Working. Hunched over our keyboards with a sandwich in one hand and a mouse in the other. Our minds are constantly busy. We’ve fooled ourselves into believing that this is the best way to live.

Sometimes, though, what we really need is to stop and have a little talk about the Kardashians.