Putting Life on Hold May 11, 2008
Remember “The Shining”? All work and no play make Jack a dull boy . . . that movie scared me so much I haven’t seen a scary movie in the theater since - and I think I saw “The Shining” in 1980.
But that’s not the point; the point is that even though there are still many areas of my house and my life that need work, I have to make time for creative projects (scrapbooking, knitting), socializing and twiddling my thumbs. Recharging, they call that, right?
A friend invited me to get together this afternoon while our husbands took the kids out to the park. I almost said no because I thought I should take advantage of time at home alone to “work” on something; there’s always a million things to do when you’re on a quest for order!
I realized that I’m a little obsessed now about all this organizing . . . either I’m writing about it, reading about it or tackling some project or other. But what will be left when I’ve finally reached organizational nirvana?
There’s a big (disorganized, messy) world out there and I still want to be in it! I still want to have friends and hobbies and a life - isn’t that why I’m on this quest in the first place?
I have a standing date with my two best friends for the second Sunday of every month. We call it Stitch and Bitch, and it is our Project Day- a day when we take time for us to work on what we want without guilt!
I think it’s incredibly important for my mental health- in fact it’s a sort of organizing. I know I have this day, and so I can mentally reserve my time.
Hi Kelly,
I love that idea; a standing date would be wonderful! I have several friends who are knitters and crafters and I will get in touch with them. And now that the weather is better, the kids can have fun outside . . . . thanks for visiting!
PS I took a quick peek at your blog and look forward to spending more time there! How do you say Stitch and Bitch en francais??
I completely agree. Socializing, and hobbies (other than blogging), are AT LEAST as important to your well-being as freedom from clutter is.
Plus, you know what they say about all work and no play.
It’s all about cycles, Ann. You’ve been on this tear for a while now and that is totally awesome. Look at what you’ve been able to accomplish!
“It’s about cycles” because the goal isn’t for you to perpetually organize everything. You could, but what kind of life would that be? There’s a time to work and a time to breathe. Or twiddle thumbs. You’re entering a slow-down cycle, where you can create a new pace and define what’s the new normal for you.
Now that there’s ROOM in your life, you can consciously choose what you’d like to fill it up with. And you might find that it still includes organizing time, buy maybe not quite as much. How ’bout that?
Thanks, Jennifer. I hope that when the great office reorganization is complete, I’ll have the emotional AND the physical space to do more creative work.