I used to think it was a knock on adult life to say that you would never again have the same kind of seemingly never-ending amount of unstructured time with your friends. Possibly this is true, though at this point in my life, I really don't know what I would do with unstructured time.
It's bad enough for me when Ms. AC leaves before me in the morning - something that had been previously unheard of in our conjugal existence, but which now happens at least three times a week. The extra fifteen minutes or so are pleasant enough - Sportscenter or Morning Joe or possibly even a few minutes of Saved by the Bell - but having to then develop my own routine for leaving the house is worse than death. I never remember to check to see if the many things that should be on/off/open/closed/cleaned/stored are in order. I leave, get halfway down the stairwell, and wonder if I locked the door. So I go back, check, find the door locked, and rush out of the building. Then, across the street, I wonder the same thing. Is the door locked? I do a quick mental calculus - Ms. AC won't be home till xx:xx, which would give the cats z number of hours to play in the hallway of the building, giving them a significant chance of escaping the building entirely. Turn back, go check door, realize I'm ten minutes late already, curse the cats, repeat.
Tonight, I got home at 9 knowing full well Mrs. AC won't leave her campus till 11 pm. So, I went for a run, got really sweaty, took a cold shower, and now...here I am. Baseball game on mute, listening to Bill Callahan, and...well, what the hell do I do? Should I recode some variables for my final quant project, read about health care and the profit motive, or just, I don't know, have unstructured time?
Also, it's very hot, and our building hasn't switched over to cool air, and though I am tropical in genetic makeup, I'm sick of being sweaty at home. New theory: when you're hot, go for a run, take a cold shower, hang out in your boxers drinking scotch, and write about it. It won't make you feel cooler, but the scotch will elevate your body temperature enough that you'll be less cognizant of the heat. Like ice cream in winter.
2 comments:
Interestingly, I've got the same thing going on. When I actually have structured time planned, it's very easy to come up with a list of 45 things I'd like to do. When the opportunity actually presents itself (like this week, when I have two solo evenings), I'm paralyzed by choice.
I'm not sure which personality defect this highlights, but I'm not sure I like it.
I hear you on the morning routine - when Amanda was out of town for a week in February I had to put a reminder on my daily calendar to eat lunch every afternoon, otherwise I would completely forget.
Taking advantage of unstructured time is really challenging - we live in a world with endles "to-dos," both real and imagined, and whenever I do nothing I worry that I should be doing something. But doing something all the time is a great recipe for burning out. Sometimes I just have to force myself to do nothing for an hour. It's wonderful.
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