ladysprite (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
ladysprite) wrote2012-04-07 04:53 pm
ladysprite) wrote2012-04-07 04:53 pm
Counterproductive
Am I the only person who will deliberately arrange to have... not necessarily a completely empty day, but a day that's got some wiggle-room and free time in it, only to wind up so utterly overwhelmed by a combination of option paralysis and impending doom from the few things I do have to do that I absolutely fail to actually take advantage of said free time?
It's frustrating as heck. I make sure that I have enough time to complete my to-do list and still have a few hours to myself, so I can relax and not stress. And then I look at those hours and I wonder how best to use them. I could curl up and read a book. Or I could be a good do-bee and tidy up the house. Or I could just waste time playing silly games - but that's wasteful, I should be reading. Except I kind of want to play silly games. Or I could get off my lazy backside and put away last week's laundry. But this is supposed to be my relaxing-time. Oh, hey, TVTropes. HEY! Stop wasting time! This is your free time and you should be doing something with it! And are you *absolutely sure* you'll have enough time to make dessert for tonight's gathering, and go running, and take a shower, and still make it on time? Maybe you should go double-check the recipe, and run to the grocery store....
And so on, until the few hours I set aside have been frittered away and I have no idea how I actually spent them, except that I feel vaguely wasteful and not as relaxed and refreshed as I could hope.
There's got to be a better way to do this.
It's frustrating as heck. I make sure that I have enough time to complete my to-do list and still have a few hours to myself, so I can relax and not stress. And then I look at those hours and I wonder how best to use them. I could curl up and read a book. Or I could be a good do-bee and tidy up the house. Or I could just waste time playing silly games - but that's wasteful, I should be reading. Except I kind of want to play silly games. Or I could get off my lazy backside and put away last week's laundry. But this is supposed to be my relaxing-time. Oh, hey, TVTropes. HEY! Stop wasting time! This is your free time and you should be doing something with it! And are you *absolutely sure* you'll have enough time to make dessert for tonight's gathering, and go running, and take a shower, and still make it on time? Maybe you should go double-check the recipe, and run to the grocery store....
And so on, until the few hours I set aside have been frittered away and I have no idea how I actually spent them, except that I feel vaguely wasteful and not as relaxed and refreshed as I could hope.
There's got to be a better way to do this.
no subject
And if you're "relaxing," that means that you do NOT put away laundry (that's not relaxing) and that anything wasteful is absolutely appropriate.
These days, I have to set aside time for downtime after days I know will be stressful, or I end up unable to function at normal speed at work. Sometimes when I sit down with a book I've already read (a new book requires too much energy), I think, "I should be working on those sewing projects . . . " but then I tell myself - firmly - that this is my DOWNTIME, and I am required to relax and NOT work on projects.