Sunday, April 22, 2012

The Myth of "Free" Time




Work is very busy and we're short-staffed. I've been working like a demon and it seems to be holding together.

But I'm tired.

I also know, from past experience, that I get sick when I'm exhausted.  And I can't get sick right now. Not at all.

I have one full day off this week – today. I've already done laundries during the week, I started my weekly cooking binge last night and I've chosen very quick and/or easy foods to cook and I'll take a shower this evening instead of in the morning.

This is all so that I can schedule some free time. Only it's not free. It takes work to free it up, for instance.

I've used some of my free time to watch TV this morning. I try not to judge – down time is important, too.

But a good chunk this afternoon was spent playing. I observed a bookbinding class and now I've got the bug.  I worked on that for part of the afternoon.  Blogging is play and so is writing – I've done that, too.

Play is important for me and for all of us. I need to create, to make things.  I'm not sure that scheduling downtime and playtime will keep me from getting sick, but I hope so. It *will* make me happier.

What do you do when you "play"?

3 comments:

  1. 1. Bookbinding is great!! I love it. :)

    2. I have a lot of trouble "allowing" myself to schedule downtime and playtime. I'm working on how I can be better about it, because if I don't I will work to exhaustion and then I get stress-related health problems.

    I actually made a list for myself, a couple of months ago, of what I would want to do if I were to give myself a mental health day to just PLAY. It serves as a nice little reminder that if I wanted to just stop for a while, there are a lot of different ways I can be kind to myself.

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  2. Yay for Play! (sorry.)

    I love the list, but you don't need a full day. It's nice and a week is even nicer. But a couple of hours helps an awful lot.

    And I'll blog about the bookbinding, I think. When I eventually get it done.

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  3. I'm a bookbinder as well! Wow, and I thought I was the only one! (Not really...) It's just so...relaxing! And it's just about the only crafty thing I can do without getting super frustrated and quitting. Your blog looks really interesting. I can't wait to check it out some more...If I only had some free time... :/

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