Productive Time-Wasters

As a mid-20's human, a lot of people find it interesting to hear how I spend my free time. It always shocks me because I don't think I'm unique, but I guess I can recognize that I've gotten quite good at filling my time with fun yet productive time-wasting activities over the past year. Maybe the next time you're feeling stuck or antsy in your home, you can try one of my favorite activities:

1. I unsubscribed.

I unsubscribe from stuff - both physically & digitally. I’ve cleaned out cabinets, my fridge, you name it, I’ve done it. Marie Kondo was right; if it no longer serves me, thank it and get comfortable with throwing it out. I also love the process of unsubscribing from emails or editing my social media feeds. You will be surprised that this sometimes takes longer than cleaning out something physically, but it’s just as equally satisfying.

2. Try something different.

Sometimes I just feel like I’m a character in Groundhogs Day (or Palm Springs). The only way I've been able to break out of the monotony is by doing something different - a date with myself if you will. I’ve gone to a new shop, planned myself themed dinners, drove to a new place to go on an urban hike. Reframing it in my mind has helped me break up the cycle and made me smile.

3. It’s okay to be bad.

I’ve gotten comfortable with being bad at art. It used to intimidate me to do something that I wasn’t practiced at. Doing something tactile & away from a screen even if it’s coloring, paint by numbers, hop on the tie-dye trend or creating an art installation in my apartment. There’s something beautiful about seeing something come from nothing.

4. Become a middle school fangirl.

In middle school, no one shamed me for loving something a little too much (or if they did, a whole crew of Beliebers were behind me so I didn’t care.) So, this year I've let myself just shamelessly love the things I love. One activity I've become increasingly obsessed with is cooking (not shocked, I also loved this in middle school as well). If you love something, you’ll learn far too much information about that it that you annoy your friends and family, but at least they get a good meal in the end.

5. Silence is golden.

This world is so noisy, and I don't even realize it until I intentionally stop listening to it. Even if it’s just 5 minutes a day - reading, journaling, making coffee, going on a walk in silence helps me listen & tune into the world around me. Slowly but surely I’ve become more comfortable with silence.

6. Write about it even if it’s not okay.

There’s something beautiful in romanticizing the mundane, but there’s also the reality that this panny-pack we are living in sucks. Sure there is joy found in the midst and we should acknowledge it, but I do miss a lot of things and most of all people. As an extrovert, some days it feels like the isolation is closing in and it’s okay to say it’s hard.