Ever since becoming a mom, I’ve never taken a moment of peace for granted. With days filled with shrieks, tantrums, toddler laughter, email notifications, and preschool music, peace has become such an elusive gift. Even though it’s free, peace is hard to feel – oftentimes, I scramble to find it. With exhausted emotions, I sometimes ask “Why does everything feel so overwhelming all the time?” I found the answer when I looked at my to-do list. 

The List is Endless 

This generation loves planners, and to-do lists. By the time I reached my late 20’s, I had become very attached to my planner. Each day, I would list down some of the most important tasks of the day – taking care of my son, managing the house, finishing work deadlines, and doing my hobbies. Most days, I felt like I always had something important to do every hour. 

On one occasion – feeling drained and overwhelmed – I stumbled upon a Church video entitled “The Soul’s Sincere Desire.” The video depicted the life of an uber-busy young woman juggling too many priorities, only to find herself exhausted and discouraged. 

Watching that video was eye-opening. I decided to review my to-do lists and noticed something – there was no time for me to slow down, meditate, and just enjoy quiet time. There was no time for me to feel and savor peace. 

No Space for Peace

Nowadays, productivity is defined by how many tasks you can do in one day. Success is portrayed as jumping from one role to another without losing energy and focus. The world advertises productivity as living life non-stop. Unfortunately, it backfires. 

The millennial generation – perhaps the number one group suffering from emotional, mental, and spiritual exhaustion – has been tagged as the “burnout generation.” Young adults rarely find the time to relax, and enjoy quiet hours. With minds always occupied by multiple things to do, millennials can easily feel lost, unsure, and overwhelmed.

Why We Need Some Quiet Time

Even though relishing in the quiet moments is sometimes considered an unproductive thing to do, choosing to spare some time to enjoy the peace is one of the best things for our mental, spiritual, and emotional health. 

Quiet Time Helps Us Evaluate What’s Important

When we’re not rushing from one task to another, or wasting our time in worthless activities, we give ourselves the opportunity to evaluate and recognize the things that matter most. An hour of pondering and meditation can help us identify ways to improve our use of time. When we see beyond the deadlines, our time management becomes clearer. We begin to see if we’re spending time with family, if we’re dedicating enough moments for self-improvement, and if we’re giving enough time to help others. Moments of peace give us the chance to better value the things that matter most in our lives. 

Quiet Time Helps Us Feel Closer to the Lord

If we’re constantly focused on the rush, we tend to forget our relationship with the Lord. Sometimes, we find ourselves rushing our prayers, our scripture study, and our daily ponderings just because we can’t wait to start the day. Our lack of time for spiritual matters can cause us to miss important promptings, and meaningful revelations from the Lord. 

Choosing a time each day to ponder and connect with the Lord enables us to make better decisions, receive more guidance, and have the courage to see our full potential. 

Quiet Time Provides Us a Chance to Do Better

The story of Enos from the Book of Mormon is one of the most significant examples of the blessings of finding peace. After retiring to a quiet place, Enos spent time in prayer to repent of his sins. His choice has led him to identify his weaknesses and shortcomings. Ultimately, he gained forgiveness of all his sins, and received treasured revelation from the Lord to guide his life.

When we’re free from the noise of the world, we have more time to reflect on our choices. We see our weaknesses more clearly, as well as our need for guidance and heavenly help. By choosing to make room for peace in our lives, we increase our capacity to better our choices, our actions, and our goals. 

Finding Peace Amidst the Busy Scenes

Finding peace is easier said than done. To find peace and quiet in our lives, we must make the decision to turn our backs to not-so-worthwhile activities and focus more on spending our hours in reflection and meditation, and on things that have eternal value. When making our to-do lists, let’s not forget to add “Find peace” to the list – it just might be one of the best things we can give to ourselves.