Spending your spare time

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Started 2 years ago by elledee
Latest reply from badkitti
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elledee
Member

Maybe I will get blasted for having this "problem," but I'm curious if someone can tell me how they combat this. More and more, I'm finding that I don't know how to spend my spare time. If I have an open afternoon (or weekend, like I do this weekend), I want to accomplish certain things, but I just get stuck. I don't feel like cleaning or cooking, but I feel guilty if i don't do these things. I'll want to start some sort of project, but getting set up and then cleaning up seems daunting. So instead, I kind of wander around not really making any choice, and then the day is over and I regret that I didn't seem to get anything done.

I can't decide if this is a result of being busy most of the time, and so I am kind of lost when I have free time, or if I'm just needing to name and deal with some sort of mental block that is somehow preventing me from making the most of my spare time.

Any one else have this issue?

Posted 2 years ago #
EraserGirl
Member

If you want to work on projects - make a list. don't even stop to think about order or importance. just write it all down. then do the 1st one on the list. and proceed accordingly. cross out the items as you do them.
tomorrow make a new list including the uncrossed out things from the previous list.
eventually you will start putting them in the order you want.

Do not spend ALL your free time on projects and organizing. spend some of your free time goofing off, go out for a walk, garden, rent a movie, volunteer someplace.

stop feeling guilty - work on organizing and to do projects when you truly want to, if you try to force yourself you will grow to hate it and then you will keep putting it off. it should be something you enjoy doing and feel great satisfaction when you are done.

Posted 2 years ago #
Mrs.Mack
Member

I kind of have this problem, but it's procrastination, rather than lack of things to do.

I second EraserGirl about making a list. I have a to-do list in the back of my moleskine notebook I take everywhere with me (everything is included in the list: small, big, fun, or boring) and whenever I find I have time to fill (or another task I'm avoiding), I refer to that list and do something there. That way I'm at least I'm doing <I>something</I> productive rather than staring at the wall—or my equivalent, surfing the 'net.

Posted 2 years ago #
Anita
Member

I sometimes have this problem as well. I know I should do things, I have the time to do it right now, but the thought of lying in bed and surfing the net or watching a movie is so much more attractive!

One thing I've realised is that cleaning is, for me, a lot less daunting if I have some sort of distraction in the background. So when I have to clean, but I don't feel like it, I play a movie that I've seen about a million times (there are a few of those), and leave it on while going about my business. That way, I have something keeping my mind busy, yet don't need to pay too much attention to it since I know it by heart. I find that every now and then I go back to watch 5 for minutes or so, whenever one of my favourite scenes is coming up, and the rest of the time I'm a lot more productive. I prefer a movie to music, mainly because one movie is long enough to last throughout my cleaning, whereas a music playlist needs to be generated in advance, or requires more interruptions to skip songs I don't feel like listening to at the moment.

This is just my little solution to my own procrastination, but feel free to try it. Also: if all the above mentioned methods fail to summon your motivation, there's nothing wrong with taking some time to goof off or do whatever you do feel like doing. Everyone needs rest, and this might be your brain's way of telling you this is one of those times.

Posted 2 years ago #
citygirl
Member

I completely understand! I also find that instead of working on fulfilling craft projects, or diving into a good book, I waste long afternoons doing "junk" activities like surfing the net or playing 29384739278 games of solitaire. I feel sort of depressed afterwards and wonder why I don't feel motivated. In addition, I tend to not enjoy my spare time as much because I constantly feel like I should be doing a chore or some other task. Instead of just diving into that movie or computer game I take breaks (yes, breaks from the fun) every few minutes to go do some task. It's terrible!

One thing that has helped me (not that I've taken my own advice lately) is to do these things with a friend. I bought some rubber stamps and NEVER used them...until a friend and I got together and did it one evening. I also have a lot of photography equipment that was gathering dust....until I decided to go take pictures with my dad. It was so fun! Even household projects seem less daunting (or boring) when someone else is along for the ride. Perhaps if you have a craft project, or music, or whatever it is that you want to do -- and invite a friend or two to do it with you -- you'll end up enjoying the project as well as quality time with a friend.

Posted 2 years ago #
EraserGirl
Member

audio books folks...i polish off a lot of audio books when i clean.

Posted 2 years ago #
badkitti
Member

I never ever feel like cleaning or tidying. I wait for a good telvision program and spend the ad breaks on specific tasks. So, advert break one - wash some dishes, advert break two - put some laundry in the machine. Sometimes I do find when I've started a task I want to finish it so I put some music on (usually on headphones) and go for it. I have faster cheesy tunes for doing cleaning to.

Posted 2 years ago #

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