Here's a poem about summer holidays:
There are sunny days and cloudy days.
Fun and boredom.
Energy and laziness.
Activity and rest.
There is company and there is solitude.
Silence and noise.
Creation and contemplation.
And every day there’s life.
Calm down, anxious heart.
There are sunny days and cloudy days.
Fun and boredom.
Energy and laziness.
Activity and rest.
There is company and there is solitude.
Silence and noise.
Creation and contemplation.
And every day there’s life.
Calm down, anxious heart.
What do you do when you have so much free time and nothing really urgent on your to-do list?
Since I started working full time I couldn’t manage time or energy for writing, so I looked forward to these two months off and I had big plans. So – much – tiiiiiiime!
What I thought I would be doing: writing new stories, writing blog posts, reading the books that have been waiting in the shelves for ages (The Chronicles of Narnia and Sherlock Holmes. Instead I’m stuck in The Dark Tower series), going to the library and cafés to write or brainstorm, doing yoga.
What I have actually been doing for three weeks: cleaning and decluttering, watching movies, sleeping in and taking naps between reads.
I’m even taking a course for teaching assistant in Dutch. Yes, I’m proud of myself for that one.
So while I have no problem keeping busy, I feel like I should be doing more. Being productive and developing myself. I have never been able to just relax and do nothing. I beat myself up over wasting time but I can’t muster the energy to create.
Are you like this too? How do you use your time?
Let’s give ourselves permission to follow our nature, to do whatever we like.
I will: read in bed, watch videos, meet up with friends, not leave the house for days if the weather is bad, bake delicious cake and eat half of it, treat myself to a home-spa, drink a cocktail on Monday evening, ride my bike, try yoga classes on YouTube and be sore for a week.
While I thought this over, I understood that this is not the time for routine, for discipline. It’s not the time to start a new good habit or to catch up with abandoned creative ambitions. You don’t owe anyone but yourself. Take it easy. If you end up writing or doing yoga now and then, perfect. If not, go take a nap. Doing nothing is also human. Life goes on.
Since I started working full time I couldn’t manage time or energy for writing, so I looked forward to these two months off and I had big plans. So – much – tiiiiiiime!
What I thought I would be doing: writing new stories, writing blog posts, reading the books that have been waiting in the shelves for ages (The Chronicles of Narnia and Sherlock Holmes. Instead I’m stuck in The Dark Tower series), going to the library and cafés to write or brainstorm, doing yoga.
What I have actually been doing for three weeks: cleaning and decluttering, watching movies, sleeping in and taking naps between reads.
I’m even taking a course for teaching assistant in Dutch. Yes, I’m proud of myself for that one.
So while I have no problem keeping busy, I feel like I should be doing more. Being productive and developing myself. I have never been able to just relax and do nothing. I beat myself up over wasting time but I can’t muster the energy to create.
Are you like this too? How do you use your time?
Let’s give ourselves permission to follow our nature, to do whatever we like.
I will: read in bed, watch videos, meet up with friends, not leave the house for days if the weather is bad, bake delicious cake and eat half of it, treat myself to a home-spa, drink a cocktail on Monday evening, ride my bike, try yoga classes on YouTube and be sore for a week.
While I thought this over, I understood that this is not the time for routine, for discipline. It’s not the time to start a new good habit or to catch up with abandoned creative ambitions. You don’t owe anyone but yourself. Take it easy. If you end up writing or doing yoga now and then, perfect. If not, go take a nap. Doing nothing is also human. Life goes on.
