too much time

Ahh, I’ve had a lot of time on my hands lately.  If you’re choosing to stay at home, I’m sure you do as well.

It’s so funny to me, because when life is super busy, I always think about what I would be doing when I have free time.  Right now I have work, but when summer comes I’ll have time to sit down and write music. I am studying at college, but I can start my own business when I graduate.  These days are crazy busy, but when it all slows down I’ll have time to work out.

And… well, look at that.  Without warning, we all have hours of extra time on our hands.  We don’t know what to do with ourselves, and we turn to our phones or devices for help.  The Instagram challenges and filters fill up our feed, and we gladly take part in them (I know I do). We scroll through endless posts of everyone “social distancing” from each other, liking, commenting, and sharing.  Then, Netflix calls our name, and by the time we look at the clock, it’s 10:00 at night. We’ve missed the entire day.

These days can feel so unproductive.  You can’t run errands, can’t hang out with all of your friends, can’t go to large events… if you are an extrovert, I bet this is really killing you.  Even if you’re an introvert, there might be some things that you feel you cannot get finished. So, some of us think the best solution is to just sit around and relax (don’t get me wrong, I think we all need a little bit of this).

This morning, I started thinking about all of the things I have been telling myself to try or work on to get better at. What my goals are, what I feel would be a useful skill to have, what recipes I want to try, and so forth. 

Creating my list, I actually had to end up cutting it short, because there are numerous activities that I thought of. There were so many things to try that I actually didn’t have enough time to do in quarantine.  24 hours a day of quarantine.  Some of these hours that I throw away could more efficiently be used for an objective I actually wish to accomplish.

Therefore, in these negative times, I encourage you to attempt something that fills your bucket up.  Whether that’s learning how to make sushi for your family, getting started on that 25-minute exercise program, or working on your calligraphy skills, try something new!  This is a perfect time to not only relax, but work on something that can make you a more unique, talented, and successful individual. Take this opportunity to take one step (or multiple steps depending how long this lasts) toward the person you want to be!

Here’s some random ideas:

Try a new recipe

Paint a Bob Ross painting

Learn to play an instrument

Read a book

Clean the house

Do 100 squats a day

Bake your favorite dessert

Build a fort and watch a movie

Get ahead in school

Go on a walk (with your dogs if you have any!)

500 piece puzzle

Learn how to sew or knit

Play a board game

Try a new makeup look

Rearrange your room

Organize (one of my favs;))