Balance & Time

Currently I am at loose ends in the wake of my office closure. This is week two. It's nice to have my days free with some summer left to go. The weather has been nice and I've been outside more than I have in years. Soaking up the sun and appreciating the seasonal warmth.

Filling all the free time has been trickier than I anticipated. Trying to balance being productive, developing a routine, remaining active, and "relaxing". I've found that I can't loaf around all day even though initially the idea seemed appealing. I can't have a day where I don't have a plan or something scheduled. I get restless. I have to have someplace to go, something to do. People talk about wanting to do "nothing" but I've found I can't have down time per say, sitting around the house for more than an hour or two with no project or task makes me anxious and irritable. I don't think anyone truly wants to do "nothing" what they really want is just a free evening or afternoon to decompress. At this point I'm thoroughly decompressed so the challenge is filling up the time with things that have some value either personally(reading, writing, seeing friends), domestically(cooking, cleaning), or professionally(applying for jobs/grad schools) and actually doing them.

It's easy to get comfortable and lazy when you have very limited external demands. At this point I have a budding routine and have(so far) stuck to it. I am(and working to stay) reasonably motivated and inspired. Being happy and productive takes effort regardless of your circumstances. While I'm not working, that's the work I'm trying to do.