Is there such thing as having too much time on my hands? I know this is a luxury in life but anyone knows there can be too much of a good thing of anything.
Work has been steady and I haven’t had the motivation to do the extra things lately that I should be doing- It’s Sunday, and I’ve grinded through my minor tasks of each day “workout, do the admin I hate doing, clean the house, walk the dog, do the laundry”
I don’t have children at this point (which is when I’m sure the luxury of time will vanish and I’ll be begging for days like these).
I often kick myself out of social media for hours at a time, and its almost dangerous how much time I get back- for anyone looking for inspiration offline of a Sunday evening- a quick list:
-Watch a classic movie from another era- I saw Ina Garten recommend “A gentleman’s agreement” on her substack and if Ina suggests it, I am into it. I love working my way down classic movie lists or cult classics that everyone loves and references all the time- they’re not always my favourite genre but I am glad I took the time to work through Mulholland Drive and Blue Velvet.
-Embroidery- Of all the hobbies I indulge in, I do want to give more credit and time to this one as it actually is fairly minimal (as opposed to setting up tools, or paint sets, or something that requires ingredients) you really can just pick a design, print it off or draw it on and have at it with a little starter kit from Amazon, I recently saw these embroidery pieces on postcards and think they are just so sweet
-Sample books - I read a quote from James Clear’s 3,2,1 newsletter from Fahrenheit 451 “Those who don't build must burn” and it really stuck with me, according to Google overview: In the context of the novel, this means that if people do not create knowledge and culture, they will have nothing to live for except to destroy.
This quote made me want to sample the book- I don’t know if I have it in me to dive in completely as the intro was pretty out there (haha) but I love that you can download samples of any book in the world on a kindle, how lucky are we to get to taste every piece of literature ever written without having to buy it or borrow it?
-Give yourself a mini research project ( a reframe on the Wikipedia rabbit hole) - I recently read and LOVED “The Woman before Wallis” I can’t help but read into the scandals of anything to do with English Aristocrats and I’ve always been fascinated by Wallis Simpson and Prince Edward tea. I learned a lot from this book- in particular about Thelma Morgan Furness, twin sister of Gloria Vanderbilt (Sr.) who was his longtime partner who essentially set Prince Edward up with Wallis Simpson. I love historical fiction because it usually forces me to do a bit of a deep dive after. It inspired me to look into some of the other wives and mistresses we rarely hear about who have been intertwined with some of the most infamous men in history.
-Force yourself to write- a journal entry of happenings of the day, a random memory/story from your youth, an outline for a short story or episode of a tv show
-Make an aggressive plan for the next spare day, DECIDE you will finally be a tourist in your own city and go take some photos, go visit a major landmark like the Public Library (I really can’t believe I haven’t been to the Osgoode Library, often called the most beautiful room in Toronto) or take it to the extreme and sign up for a walking tour. I keep wanting to do a ghost tour in my little summer town of Lunenburg, maybe this is the year.
