A Week Alone
My wife is out of town this week for a training conference and that
means I have the house (and my evenings to myself). In the past, I'd set
up a stressful agenda of things to watch and do. I'd plan it out
like:
- Monday: Clean kitchen, take out trash, watch two movies
- Tuesday: Laundry, clean out clothes, watch one movie
and so on. It was a bit ridiculous, but I just wanted to maximize
my free time.
This time around, I'm trying to do things a
bit differently. I'm not scheduling anything, outside of my normal
nightly twenty minutes of meditation. I'm going to clean the house as I
feel compelled to and as far as a television agenda is concerned, there
is none. I will watch TV when I have time or play video games as I
desire, and I'm going to try and take it as easy possible.
One of the things I've struggled with is a sort of completionism. I'd
see an opportunity like this, where I have all of my evenings free and
I'd say, "What movie series do I need to watch? What television show do
I need to get through?" then I'd charge forward, not because I wanted to
watch it but because I felt like it was necessary. I needed to watch the
latest horror sequel so I could chat with friends, or I needed to finish
up the latest Netflix series so I could chime in on the conversation.
That's a terrible way to live and it's a terrible way to prioritize
things that don't truly matter.
So, now, I'm a bit more
free. I watch whatever I feel like watching and when I'm tired of it, I
stop, and ya know what? I'm way more relaxed and I enjoy my free time so
much more.