Nicola Young Photo/File
I've been rallying against people rallying against the "glorification of being busy".
That's because I like being busy. I see it as an asset, a strength, something I can put to work for me ... something that has helped me take advantage of my opportunities in life.
But guess what? I've been overdoing it. Yep, turns out all those times my mother has said "Slow down, don't overdo it", she was on to something.
It's only taken a wee computer meltdown to help me realise that I wasn't leaving any space for the flat tyres of life.
It feels harder to slow down, though, when you love what you do - I have a fantastic job and am lucky to be supported in working part-time from home.
I love my volunteering with the Green Party - it's been a joy discovering the smart, caring and passionate Kiwis involved - so I've happily thrown myself in boots and all.
Combining my news junkie tendencies with political engagement has felt like I'm uncovering my addiction gene. When it's all for a good cause, it fuels the justification in running from one thing to the next.
Then writing this column - I am amazed to have this opportunity to thrust my opinions on you, even if it's another couple of hours a week at the computer.
And my children ... yes, turns out I have two divine boys who soak up a bit of time and energy, too. Even though they are as exhausting as they are entertaining, I really do love my time with them. Oh ... and my hard-working husband, he's in the mix somewhere.
So what do I give up? Where do I cut back? How do I stop being too busy to work out how to stop being too busy?
It was when my computer decided to lock me out last week, and I realised I just did not have time for this enforced go-slow, it hit me that it was time for change.
That's why I'm writing this somewhat self-indulgent piece about slowing down, hoping it will focus my commitment to no longer stuffing every moment with something.
My much-loved iPhone is part of the problem. I fell into the habit of using it all hours a couple of years ago when breastfeeding my youngest in the middle of the night. I'd read news online and catch up on Facebook posts from friends in different time zones to help stay awake.
Now I've discovered Twitter. I enjoy the instant gratification of Twitter - it's like mainlining news and political commentary. So practising self-control with my smartphone obsession is up the top of the list.
I know raising children while maintaining a career is not easy but I am grateful for this "problem" of having a satisfying job and being connected to my community.
If anyone relating to this is waiting for me to offer advice about how I'm fixing it, sorry to disappoint - it's a work in progress. As a start, I am self-prescribing more walking the dog on the beach, reading to the kids, decent sleep and unwinding with American Idol on TV.
Let's get real, though, I am one of the lucky ones. Many people turn up to work each day for financial survival but still only scrape by. Many have sick children or elderly parents to care for, or their own health challenges; and many are mums trying to do it all - have it all - without a supportive partner alongside.
Best-seller In Praise Of Slow by Carl Honore was recommended to me this week. It is about the intensifying speed we bring to everything in the 21st century, but opens with a quote from 1907 by William Dean Howells: "People are born and married, and live and die, in the midst of an uproar so frantic that you would think they would go mad of it."
So this isn't new but, as Honore says: "When you accelerate things that should not be accelerated, when you forget how to slow down, there is a price to pay."
It might not be easy, but I'm going to slow down.
Nicola Young is a former Department of Conservation manager who now works for global consultancy AECOM. Educated at Wanganui Girls' College, she has a science degree and is the mother of two boys.