Brian’s fitness journal after a brain stroke
One thing my wife and I have been working on lately is balancing our schedules. Scheduling time for hobbies isn’t wasted time
Like many people, we enjoy staying productive. The challenge is remembering that productivity is not simply about filling every available minute with work.
For example, I regularly play online games with friends two or three evenings a week. Those sessions give me a chance to relax, laugh, and mentally step away from everything else for a little while.
My wife is a different story.
She always has a project in progress. If she isn’t working, she is planning the next thing to work on. For a long time, she found it difficult to justify spending time on activities that were simply enjoyable. Reading, drawing, and crafting often felt like luxuries rather than worthwhile uses of her time.
This weekend, however, we managed to accomplish everything we had planned.
Even better, my wife found time to work on several crafting projects.
I was especially happy to see that because she has been carrying a heavy workload recently. Between reconciling recent IEEPA government refunds, working through JSOX responsibilities, and preparing for the quarterly financial close, her mind has been occupied almost constantly.
Weekends can disappear surprisingly quickly when every hour already has an assignment.
One challenge she faced was guilt.
She felt that every moment should be spent doing something productive or meaningful. Ironically, that way of thinking made it difficult to relax, even when relaxation was exactly what she needed, which was scheduling time for hobbies.
Her solution was wonderfully practical.
Instead of waiting until she “earned” free time, she scheduled it.
Art time.
Crafting time.
Reading time.
They all became appointments on her calendar, just as legitimate as meetings or work projects.
What surprised her was the result.
Once she gave herself permission to enjoy those activities, she discovered that she actually worked better afterward. By the end of the weekend, she felt refreshed, focused, and ready to return to work with renewed energy.
Sometimes the most productive hour of the week is the one spent doing something that produces absolutely nothing except joy.
That realization has changed the way we think about our schedules.
We still plan our time carefully, but now we recognize that rest, creativity, and hobbies are not interruptions to productivity. They are part of the system that sustains productivity.
Next weekend will look quite different.
After a long wait, workers are finally scheduled to reinstall the tile in our downstairs bathroom. Their calendar has been packed for quite some time, so we have been eagerly anticipating their visit.
Fortunately, we have already checked every delivery and confirmed that all the necessary materials have arrived.
Everything is ready.
Now all that’s left is to let the professionals do their work while we try not to add any “helpful suggestions” from the sidelines.
Sometimes planning ahead is the hardest part.
Sometimes it’s remembering to leave room on the calendar for life itself.