Time You Enjoy Wasting Is Not Wasted Time
The best quote I've woken up to yet
Photo by Tungsten Rising on Unsplash
Ask yourself,
“How long is your to-do list?”
I like when my list fits on a 3 x 3 Post-it. It usually doesn’t. Instead, I’ve graduated to 3 x 5 index cards, where I’m staying firm!
Now, after waking up to this quote of the day by writer Marthe Troly-Curtin, I had to ask myself,
“Does my index card actually matter? I’d rather take a walk with Teddy (my dog) and bake some fresh scones. After that, I'd like to top off my day by finishing the book I’m reading by Dehlia Ephron.”
By any stretch of my imagination, this constitutes luxurious self-indulgence, and yet Marthe Troly Curtin is telling me that it’s not a waste of my time — which might be true if I don’t insert “productive” before “time.”
My Defense of My Not-Wasted, Not-Productive Time
For me to truly internalize the brilliance of Curtin’s quote, I need to put it into my own words. It goes something like this. My “wasted” time is not wasted because:
I value the “long game”: The long game is about staying mentally and physically healthy for many, many years. That probably means downtime is good.
I’m not a machine, so I shouldn’t treat myself like one: While I like being productive, I’m not on the assembly line writing and consulting for maximum output. At least, I shouldn’t be.
Expanding my universe means expanding how I spend my time: This means that I get to watch stupid shows, read meh books, take aimless walks, and be open to odd things that come my way. Just this weekend, my nephew asked me, “Wanna learn how to make hot and sour soup?” when I was going to pull weeds and up the odds of my having a thriving garden. Of course, I said, “Yes,” and 2 hours later, we were enjoying a bowl of soup. The garden still looked unattended to, but who cares?
I am practicing what I preach: I frequently tell my family to take a “chill pill and relax.” We stress out too much about work. Now I get to be “exhibit A” and say,
“The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
I asked my husband what he thought of the quote of the day. He remembered that I also get jokes to start my morning. Before he would answer my question about the quote, he was curious about the day’s jokes. There were two which I reported on (btw I subscribe to kid-friendly humor). Namely:
Q: How does a pizza introduce itself? A: Slice to meet you
Q: Why was the bunny upset? A: It was having a bad hare day.
They were both stupid jokes that made us laugh a little. The quote of the day definitely warranted a stronger and more meaningful response.
But following the idea that the time we enjoy wasting is not wasted time and that we actually chuckled when I told them, I took this to mean that the jokes weren’t a waste, either.
And if that is my standard of what constitutes time well spent, then all kinds of new doors are opening for me. It does make me wonder,
Is this what it means to “set a low bar?”
Well, even if so, this might also mean that I might make my way back to a to-do list that fits on a Post-it note.
That would be a win.
An even bigger win is if my dear readers offer suggestions for their favorite ways to waste time.
Anyone playing?
Key Message: We need to reframe “wasted time” as “important time” that allows us to relax, have fun, catch our breath, and not see ourselves as productivity machines.
My favourite activity wasting time is ... doing nothing :), which I absolutely love. Especially summer nights, before going to bed, sitting on my long chair on the terrace. But then, to the theme: wherever we look, there's a pattern of activity and repose: day and night, summer and winter, sleep and wake, weekdays and weekends, breathing in (energizing) and breathing out (relaxing). You should post that on LinkedIn, Jill :)