This week is all about the 3 B’s: Balance, Boundaries, and Being. I’m chatting with my GIRL Ciji Townsend, who is someone I look up to in so many areas of life, but especially when it comes to living a balanced (not busy) life.
In this episode, Ciji and I are talking all about how we are both recovering busy bodies (but God!). We’re chatting all about:
- Getting back to being human beings and moving away from human doings
- The intentionality it takes to live a balanced life
- How to stop the glorification of busy or being busy just for the sake of it
- Our secrets and best tips to protecting your boundaries and peace
- Understanding when to say no and when to say not right now
And more!
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MORE ABOUT CIJI
Ciji is genuine and authentic on her everyday journey to live balanced not busy and provide practical solutions to find balance and ultimately shift from crazy busy to confident calm.
This space could be used to house some fancy smancy bio that lists all of Ciji’s “incredible” accomplishments, but it would better to set the stage for the real story behind Balanced Not Busy.
Ciji has been intrigued by the word “busy” since she was six years old. Surrounded by working parents and grandparents, everyone seemed to be really really busy…ALL of the time. Ciji was initiated into her family’s secret society of busy people when she turned 13. Her over programmed social calendar, full schedule and ridiculous amount of commitments from school sports to the youth and government club was some official rites of passage.
Ciji remained in the secret society and committed to the condition of being busy in high school, college and for many years post-graduation. Until one day a light bulb went off and she no longer wanted to respond to “how are you?” with the overused response, “I’m so busy.”
Her life as a balanced person has certainly not limited her from identifying and pursuing each one of her passions. Professionally, she has worked as an Account Manager for Dyalect Marketing, Marketing Manager for Red Bull North America and currently in Corporate Public Relations at Cox Communications.
Outside of her 9-5, she works 5-9 and sometimes even later to serve in the Atlanta community. She is President Emeritus of the Urban League of Greater Atlanta Young Professionals, she is a member of the LEAD Atlanta 2013 class, a New Leaders Council Louisiana 2015 Fellow and a participate in the Leadership Buckhead class of 2017. She is a graduate of the Leadership Georgia Class of 2018 and was inducted into Outstanding Atlanta in the Fall of 2019. She’s a member of the Junior League of Atlanta and served this year as the Director of Sustainer Engagement.
Additionally, she is the Founder of Balanced Not Busy a space for go-getters to find rest. She inspires, encourages and empowers as a public speaker, wellness advocate and host of the being BALANCED podcast.
How does she do it all? In three words, Ciji lives an intentional life, rooted in prioritizing her time and doing the things that matter most, that she is passionate about and that fulfills her life. Rather than focusing on a work life balance, she lives life and avoids sacrificing her joy by glorifying “busyness.”
