I spent the majority of Today writing (Author’s Note: I was drafting this on Thursday). I was looking forward to it. I had planned for it: I had the day off work and I could spend that time doing what I wanted, and I wanted to get some writing done.
Needless to say, at the end of it all, I felt guilty for spending so much time writing that I wasn’t going to be able to do some of the other things that I’d wanted to do.
Let me say that again: I felt guilty for doing what I wanted to do. Something that was Fun, to the point where I lost track of time – which is a major component of Fun – I’ll get to that in another Blog Post.
So here I am: It’s Thursday evening. All of my chores are done. I spent the majority of the day writing, and I’m here on my porch, my bare feet on the sun-warmed cement. I’ve got a beer so good that it’s even good warm, and I’m watching the sun set behind what may turn out to be a doozy of a storm swirling in.
It’s quiet at the moment and, if this was one of my friends posting about this, I’d call it a day well spent.
Myself? Guilt.
So I ask you (and myself) gentle reader, the following questions:
What kind of sense does that make?
What is the difference between such a day being recorded by either them, or me?
After careful consideration, I’ve decided that the answer to both questions is the same:
None.
There is a mindset that we must be able to do ALL THE THINGS, during any given day and, if we can’t, then that’s the result of some kind of failure on our part.
Failure to plan
Lack of discipline
Laziness
Now I freely confess that I have been guilty of all three – we all have at one point or another.
But not today.
Yet I still try to reach some unobtainable level of productivity, of efficiency.
And here I am, “Wasting Time” watching the sun set, and…
I. CALL. BULLSHIT.
From this day forward, I will *Not* feel guilty about spending time on Writing, or any other Fun activity, when it encroaches on other stuff I thought it would be nice to do.
From this time forward, there will be no “guilty” Pleasure, or “minor” Delight.
There *Will* be more Fun – and I do realize that this will take a bit of thought and self reflection (Again, more on that in another post).
I also realize that this will be a thing in progress. It will be something that I will have to work on, something that will take time to turn into a habit, to set it into the core of who I am.
Much like watching the sun set, I believe that this, too, will be time well spent.
Thanks for reading. Be safe out there. Be Excellent to Each other – and yourself.
I’ll see you on Thursday.
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