I’m pretty sure that anyone at home for prolonged periods during the early part of the pandemic vowed that we’d never let ourselves get so busy again. It was probably around the same time that we decided we would also emerge from lockdown with improved bodies and minds. Then it all got a bit busy again somehow.
Amazingly, I actually made time to go to the park this weekend. It was lovely. I had a ton of work to do but I took a couple of hours out to sit on a bench, admire the trees and listen to a brass band. And then I did it again the next day.
But really a few hours in the park enjoying the last days of autumn shouldn’t be so strange.
Lunchtime in the park
It’s funny but when I had a job that required me to be in a building between specified hours on certain days of the week I went to the park loads. I’d go there at lunchtime to read or walk. I’d stroll through on my way to work and again at the end of the day. But I didn’t go there so much at weekends because I was too busy catching up with other things.
So clearly this is a reminder not to think of days as being workdays or weekends if possible. Instead, they are all days where things happen. Some of those are fun. Some are requirements that you just have to get on with. But they are part of being alive.
It made me look at how I organise my week and whether that really suits my energy levels. So I assume that I’ll have more energy at the start of the week. But if I’ve been working all weekend that might not be the case. But it is tempting to frontload the week even if by Wednesday you’re exhausted.
So what’s the solution? Well, I’m experimenting with a mid-week early night along with asking why I am sometimes extra tired and busy. But I’m also looking at how I can shake up my routine. Consider these:
- Spreading everything over seven days rather than trying to get it into five
- If it does all fit into five days (questionable) then could it fit into four days? Or even three?
- How many things do I actually have to do at a specific time?
- How much healthier would I be if I rested more?
Here’s the TLDR
Do the things you love more often! Make more time for the good stuff! What’s holding you back?