How to Support Your Busy Friend

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Spring is the season of April showers and May flowers, outdoor activities, floral prints and quality time with friends and family. As a business owner, with our workflow, I tend to be busier in the Spring.

This means sometimes, for my friends, I’m hard to get a hold of, may not always be available for on the spot activities (like “let’s go out tonight!), may need to schedule things way in advance, or may have to say no altogether for something I would normally do. This workflow cycle has been consistent since having my business. It’s my norm and I actually prepare for it these days. You may also have a friend who gets super busy with what they are working on from time to time. Here are 5 ways you can support your busy friend.

Send A Funny/Encouraging Text Message, Just Because
You know the quirky texts or images that make your friend laugh. Or you know you’ve come across some quote or affirmation thats right up her alley. Or you can also keep it easy and just say “hey, thinking of you, hope you’re having an awesome day.” Don’t worry if you don’t get a response right away. The important thing is to let them know you are there and you thought about them.

Send Them Their Favorite…
Okay so if they aren’t home too often because they are in the office usually working late, maybe send them a package with their favorite snacks, or hook them up with a gift card for UberEats (or GrubHub, etc) so that they don’t have to worry about food while also worrying about their growing to-do list. It’s a super easy gesture that can save their day.

Get On Their Calendar 
Ask for a date on their calendar further out, and take the lead with planning what you do. Your friend may already have a lot of details that they have to coordinate and plan for work. It would probably be a glorious thing for them to have something on their calendar where their only responsibility is to show up. Come on, you know your friend well right? You know their favorite food or favorite outing or something that would make them smile. Make that happen. That’s what friends are for.

Ask How You Can Support 
They may tell you there’s nothing you can do and that they got it, but it’s still good for them to know that you’re interested in what’s happening in their life and want to be supportive. Maybe you can check in with them casually every so often to ask them how work or that project is going, and just be a listening ear when they tell you. Or sometimes a friend will say “send me funny photos” or “motivational quotes” and that will suffice too. Showing you are there goes a long way.

Use Wellness for Social Activities
It’s when I’m super busy at work that I start to slip on things surrounding wellness. I’ll miss a gym class, maybe choose a working lunch over a casual stroll, and so forth and so on. If you see a friend who is starting to make some of these choices, maybe instead of trying to get on their calendar for dinner, you can try to get on their calendar for yoga followed by a smoothie bowl at a healthy dining option. I sometimes get my stressed out friends together for a floating meditation class at Movement Lab where they can let all that’s weighing them down go and focus on themselves for a while. It ends up being our most relaxing day.

When things get busy, it’s easy to feel like we’re in it alone, or like we’re disappointing our friends and family by not always being available. But the reality is that sometimes we have busy seasons where we have to juggle a little bit more than usual to get things done. Knowing our friends and family are still understanding and supportive goes a long way.

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