I’ve been busy for about seven years. I’m sure you can relate. We don’t need to talk about who is busier or who juggles the most things the best. That’s not the point. The point is that in my rush to do the clubs and the classes, get the jobs, meet the people, and learn the things, I’ve never gotten really good at not being busy. And now I’m trying – and it’s hard.
My life has pretty much always had structure, and I tend to keep a to-do list that’s too big for one day. Right now, my only structure is my morning workout, the occasional appointment, maybe a friend lunch before they head back to school, and a dog walk at some point before dinner. Since those are rarely fall all on the same day, let’s round up and call that two hours of my day.
That generally leaves me with major decision paralysis with respect to what to do for the rest of the day. I feel this pull to be productive on the one hand, but also a nagging, “Maybe you should chill for once” voice that I’ve actually been listening to.
In my week-and-a-half of true summer, I’ve found a few things that actually work for me… and a few more I’m working on.
Make a to-do list
These days, mine are usually mental. They don’t have a whole lot on them, either, but having a list of stuff I want to get done in a day reminds me that I am not completely useless.
Break it up
If you don’t have a lot of stuff to do, spread it out. I am generally terrible at this. I like to just power through and get everything done. If I do that right now, I’ll have about two full days and then a month of nothing. So, I dust the house one day and clean the bathroom the next, even though both could easily be done in a morning. If I have five errands to run, I’ll do one a day instead of all of them together.
Is this the most efficient mode of operation? An emphatic no. However, for once, efficiency isn’t the goal. I’m just seeking sanity here.
Be an idealist
In my ideal world, I stretch and foam roll way more often than I do in reality. I also read more, write more, and listen to more podcasts. When I’m busy, those ideals fall to the wayside and I mostly go to survival mode. So, I’m taking advantage of the downtime and doing those things.
Chill out
I haven’t watched that much TV since the start of college. I think I’ve watched four shows in the past three years, and I’m already two shows into summer. It’s not the best or most productive use of time, and I still have issues with that, but occasionally I understand why people actually regularly watch TV. It can be kind of fun.
Despite the fact that downtime isn’t that easy for me, I’m trying to enjoy it with the knowledge that between school and work, I likely won’t have a big chunk of responsibility-free time again… especially since I can’t remember my last one.
Your turn:
How do you deal with downtime?
Do you like to spread out your tasks or tackle them all at once?
First time commenter, long time blog reader.
I’m definitely dealing with this right now as my last term of college wraps up and I’m waiting around for my gap year fellowship to start…but I think it’s so important to enjoy it while we have the downtime to survive during those crazy, survival mode times 🙂
Thanks so much for commenting! Love hearing from you! I’m about to start my last term of college, too, so I get it. Good luck with everything!
Keep some sort of routine. When I was unemployed, that was a must!
Yep yep yep. Except when I make quick trips to Chicago!
Such great tips! I like to have a daily to-do list when I’ve got lots of down time–even if it’s full of little things like “trim my nails” or “bake cookies”–because it’s so easy to get to the end of the day and feel like you’ve done nothing otherwise.
Lately I’ve also picked up a few new hobbies in my down time: knitting, creative writing, and learning a new language. I feel similar to you in that I haven’t had free time for such a long time and I realized that I didn’t have many hobbies that I enjoyed as a result–so I’m trying some out!
Yes! Little things on my to-do list make me feel so accomplished. I definitely need to pick up some more hobbies. I’ve been loving to read again (after years of only reading for school).
I’m glad that you’re back to blogging! I don’t have a lot of downtime, so it’s a struggle not to “waste” it when I have it. But sometimes I need to rest and learn to accept that dissonance created by being quiet.
When I do need to get things done, I like to make a checklist with boxes and knock out everything at once. That way I can relax when I’m done. Plus, I’m a morning person and stuff is more likely to get done if I get it done early.
Enjoy your break and don’t let it pass by too quickly.
Resting definitely isn’t wasting your downtime! I definitely should have done more of that in the past.
Making to do lists really helps me. And just chilling too- accepting the fact that I have time to chill instead of trying to busy myself with things I don’t really need to do!
Hahaha I’m totally guilty of trying to make myself busy when I don’t need to be. Still learning!
super helpful post, and something I totally relate to! I like the list idea, I have started to implement them more, but I think I need to also work on embracing the chill!
Embracing the chill is SO counterintuitive, but it can be really nice, too!
These are such great tips! I can’t remember the last time I had downtime – but in the past when I had periods where I wasn’t so busy with work, I’d use that time to do things around home that needed to get done (like organising pantries or fully cleaning my room or washing down skirting boards etc…
) or just cook or read a book!
You’re such a busy lady these days!