On the relativity of (spare) time
I was recently told that when you work a fulltime job, you also get better at fitting more stuff into your spare time even as the amount of available spare time shrinks to just a fraction of what you had before.
I'm not sure what I think about that (though, to be fair, this effect is only supposed to set in after you've worked fulltime for several months). Well, I've worked fulltime, pretty much, for the past two and a half weeks, and been mostly busy with seminars on weekends on top of that. Today I did have a full day to myself, though, and managed to fit three loads of laundry, cleaning the entire flat, writing and editing a (very) short article about bread, talking to a friend on the phone for half an hour (I felt too busy to call anyone, but he called me), washing my hair, and cooking today's dinner/tomorrow's lunch into this day. (None of this is what I would really like to do with my spare time, of course, but these things needed to be done.) Oh, and I even watched one ep of Third Doctor DW during dinner. Still, I don't think that's significantly more than I would have managed before I started fulltime work.
I do feel different about it, however. My To Do List is as intimidating as ever, including, as of last Thursday, learning the basics of statistics and Excel, so I'll have at least some chance of success at that scary two-day application procedure I mentioned. (Because that job would actually be completely and utterly perfect for me. Cross your fingers for me!)
Usually, my To Do List leaves me with a persistent feeling of "OMG I need to DO MORE!!!" when I go to bed. Today, though, I feel at peace with leaving the rest of the list for tomorrow (and the days after that). I think that has something to do with the fact that, working fulltime, I don't have unrealistically high expectations regarding what I can manage beside work in a given day or week. It's easier to make your peace with your inability to keep up with everything you want and need to keep up with - or, in other words: work makes a very efficient excuse for neglecting Other Important Stuff. Like friends, hobbies, art, non-work-related responsibilities, even job hunting... (Well, okay, even without work, experience has demonstrated that I can't manage to keep up with all this on a regular basis. But with work it becomes oh so easy to stop beating myself up about it.)
I'm not sure I like this effect, despite the temporary peace of mind it provides...
I'm not sure what I think about that (though, to be fair, this effect is only supposed to set in after you've worked fulltime for several months). Well, I've worked fulltime, pretty much, for the past two and a half weeks, and been mostly busy with seminars on weekends on top of that. Today I did have a full day to myself, though, and managed to fit three loads of laundry, cleaning the entire flat, writing and editing a (very) short article about bread, talking to a friend on the phone for half an hour (I felt too busy to call anyone, but he called me), washing my hair, and cooking today's dinner/tomorrow's lunch into this day. (None of this is what I would really like to do with my spare time, of course, but these things needed to be done.) Oh, and I even watched one ep of Third Doctor DW during dinner. Still, I don't think that's significantly more than I would have managed before I started fulltime work.
I do feel different about it, however. My To Do List is as intimidating as ever, including, as of last Thursday, learning the basics of statistics and Excel, so I'll have at least some chance of success at that scary two-day application procedure I mentioned. (Because that job would actually be completely and utterly perfect for me. Cross your fingers for me!)
Usually, my To Do List leaves me with a persistent feeling of "OMG I need to DO MORE!!!" when I go to bed. Today, though, I feel at peace with leaving the rest of the list for tomorrow (and the days after that). I think that has something to do with the fact that, working fulltime, I don't have unrealistically high expectations regarding what I can manage beside work in a given day or week. It's easier to make your peace with your inability to keep up with everything you want and need to keep up with - or, in other words: work makes a very efficient excuse for neglecting Other Important Stuff. Like friends, hobbies, art, non-work-related responsibilities, even job hunting... (Well, okay, even without work, experience has demonstrated that I can't manage to keep up with all this on a regular basis. But with work it becomes oh so easy to stop beating myself up about it.)
I'm not sure I like this effect, despite the temporary peace of mind it provides...