* Ana’s post-vacation thoughts (I especially relate to her #4 and #5)
* Laura’s no-childcare day in the life (I am exhausted just reading it)
* MMD’s discussion of fitting things you love into each each day/week/month
All — in one way or another — are about time. And how we use it. Now with my newfound FFF (Freedom From Facebook, duh) I am thinking about — well, what will I do instead?
I came up with the following list:
1) Read more. (Actual books, fiction and non. And maybe some magazines, too.)
2) Listen to more music. (Currently into Tame Impala’s latest. Also, can I just say that the entire concept of streaming services like Spotify COMPLETELY blows my mind? Perhaps that can be tomorrow’s post topic.)
3) Send emails/letters/etc to people (not just out into the ether)
4) Write more. Here, or just to myself, too.
5) Work on archiving of family memories.
6) Lie on the couch and drink wine while watching TV.
YES. I am actually putting #6 on a list of things I want to do more of. Because to me that actually sounds relaxing and nice, whereas reading a bunch of click-bait/internet rants/status updates does not.
Notably, call people or do social events is not on the list. I am not an introvert but lately I am finding myself so PEOPLED-OUT after work. I am still up for fun Thursday night dinners out once in a while and plenty of weekend socializing, but in those post-kid-bedtime evening hours, I just need to unwind — with Josh, or just by myself.
5 Comments
That LV post is pretty good birth control right there. I had been thinking, hey, maybe a baby #3 wouldn’t be so bad. Yeah, no. Obviously I’m getting too much R&R.
If I’m already not on facebook, then why am I not more productive? Or maybe the number of romance novels I’ve been cranking through is a measure of productivity.
Good idea…only a few of those sound like "work" to me—like archiving family memories is something I’ve been "meaning to do" for about 5 years now. Now #1 and #6 I can totally get behind, though I’m trying to cut back on the wine myself.
I was thinking more about whether or not zoning out on the internet when I’m feeling stressed is inherently a bad thing, and I’ve decided that yes, it is, FOR ME. Because it doesn’t make me really feel better about myself. And its not because I’m being hard on myself, but because 1) I will usually get drawn into something negative or 2) that time just seems truly WASTED. I love a good lounging around session, reading a book or watching TV in the evenings—that actually seems relaxing, and I can say—hey, I watched Gilmore GIrls or I read for an hour, vs. the times I just fritter away on the phone & have no idea what just happened. Its different if I decide (DECIDE!) to spend the evening (or a 5 minute break at work) catching up on blogs…that’s actually fun and I feel good after catching up on comments and maybe even having a meaningful online interaction—very different from mindlessly reading crap on the phone.
There is also the issue that distraction is not the best treatment for stress—better to do things that actually reduce the stress overall (I really REALLY need to try meditating, or knitting, or something along those lines!).
This is so awesome! I was listening recently to Freakanomics and one of the actors from Parks and Rec (don’t remember his name) was talking about how he doesn’t do Instagram, FB etc. It was hilarious and one thing he said was "If someone printed you all the status updates and random stuff from your FB feed and bound it into a huge book for you to actually read and turn pages, would you read it? NO because that would be the most boring/crappy/stupid book ever!!" HA! Truth. He also mentioned that after detoxing and removing these from his life he asked himself "Ok, so what do I miss?"and his answer "Nothing at all." 🙂
Azziz Ansari! Yes, I heard that podcast and that is partly what inspired me. He was such an awesome guest on the show and I loved that "bound book" analogy.
Hmm… I didn’t think my day was that awful! Some stressful moments, but we keep chugging along.
I find that I use my free time better when I’ve got something I want to do. I finally found a book I wanted to read, so I spent time reading that last night, which was much better than wandering aimlessly around the internet. I tend to enjoy certain magazines more than others, so maybe I need to subscribe to more of the kind I like. And I’m trying new restaurants on my night off (when I get a sitter) – it might be fun to meet friends, but often hard to coordinate their coverage, and I kind of like sitting by myself too. Good decompression…