Permission to Skip Granted

I'm currently subscribed to 21 podcasts. This after pruning a much longer list earlier this fall. Some of the 21 podcasts are weekly some are not. To say I'm a completionist; fixated on listening to every minute of every podcast, would be an understatement. I even have an order in which I like to "consume" them. At times this leads to a bit of stress and anxiety, neither of which I need. Recently, as my job has become increasingly more demanding and I find myself sleeping in, going for my walks later in the day with my wife, being a podcast completionist is becoming more and more difficult. In an attempt to cultivate a bit of mental silence, I've given myself permission NOT to listen to every episode of every podcast. This was a little difficult at first. I didn't want to miss something. Then I realized, I can always go back to an episode I'm skipping if I want to. This may sound self evident to some of you but it wasn't to me. I'm actually finding that I'm enjoying the experience more now that I've given myself permission to listen to what I want to instead of feeling like I have to "mow them down" one at a time, in a predetermined order.