Time for everything?
One of the things I've been thinking about these days is time use and productivity. In a culture where we are not required to spend all our waking time on survival, how do we decide what to do and what to not do?
We are told that exercise is important, that 30 minutes a day is recommended but 60 minutes would really be better.
It is good to spend time in contemplation/devotion/prayer, but how much?
Work traditionally is expected to take about 8 hours without a commute. Beyond that is still laundry, cleaning, and cooking. If there are children then there are children's activities to attend, drive to, or orchestrate.
Hobbies, friendships, church, classes....
I enjoy the privilege of not earning a monetary salary. Because I don't have to go to a job every day I am free to schedule my own time.
When I had a job as a para in the school district, there were times nearly every day when my help was not required. I had time every day when all I could do was sit and wait for the next assignment. Because I could do nothing to change that, I could have those 'nothing' moments and never feel guilty. Of course, as much as possible I tried to find ways to be helpful that were beyond my job description, but even so, I still had times when all I could do was sit.
Scheduling my own time does not leave me guilt free time. No matter what I am doing there is something else I could be doing that may or may not be more important. I find myself obsessing about it.
I garden, bake bread, preserve fruits and vegetables, visit my grandma, make phone calls, hang all our laundry out to dry, cook most of our meals from scratch, wash the dishes, file reports, do whatever cleaning gets done here, run errands, chauffeur kids, keep track of our farm and home finances, work at the church...
I also read the newspaper and a couple of magazines, do yoga (at home), watch movies and ER, occasionally take my dog for a walk, have devotions, write emails, keep up with some blogs, check out the NPR website, and otherwise waste time.
What I have trouble with is knowing if the balance is good. The temptation is to measure based on what other people do, but comparison isn't appropriate. You choose who you compare to based on whether you want to feel better or worse about your own choices.
I guess I'll have to figure this out more some other time, because right now my own choice involves a bed.
We are told that exercise is important, that 30 minutes a day is recommended but 60 minutes would really be better.
It is good to spend time in contemplation/devotion/prayer, but how much?
Work traditionally is expected to take about 8 hours without a commute. Beyond that is still laundry, cleaning, and cooking. If there are children then there are children's activities to attend, drive to, or orchestrate.
Hobbies, friendships, church, classes....
I enjoy the privilege of not earning a monetary salary. Because I don't have to go to a job every day I am free to schedule my own time.
When I had a job as a para in the school district, there were times nearly every day when my help was not required. I had time every day when all I could do was sit and wait for the next assignment. Because I could do nothing to change that, I could have those 'nothing' moments and never feel guilty. Of course, as much as possible I tried to find ways to be helpful that were beyond my job description, but even so, I still had times when all I could do was sit.
Scheduling my own time does not leave me guilt free time. No matter what I am doing there is something else I could be doing that may or may not be more important. I find myself obsessing about it.
I garden, bake bread, preserve fruits and vegetables, visit my grandma, make phone calls, hang all our laundry out to dry, cook most of our meals from scratch, wash the dishes, file reports, do whatever cleaning gets done here, run errands, chauffeur kids, keep track of our farm and home finances, work at the church...
I also read the newspaper and a couple of magazines, do yoga (at home), watch movies and ER, occasionally take my dog for a walk, have devotions, write emails, keep up with some blogs, check out the NPR website, and otherwise waste time.
What I have trouble with is knowing if the balance is good. The temptation is to measure based on what other people do, but comparison isn't appropriate. You choose who you compare to based on whether you want to feel better or worse about your own choices.
I guess I'll have to figure this out more some other time, because right now my own choice involves a bed.
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