A learning experience

Oh dear. I have failed miserably at my 365 day challenge. So much so that I'm officially abandoning it as a Bad Idea.

Three points strike me:

1. It was asking a lot of myself to start an initiative while on holiday away from home.
2. 365 days is - self-evidently - too long be an incentive, so I need a challenge bigger than 100 days, but smaller than 365.
3. If I was doing this for money, I would have no trouble whatsoever with compliance, so I am not as self-motivated as I'd like to believe. (I suspect I am not solo-ing on this point.)

Once I would have felt woefully inadequate and probably abandoned the whole blog because I was such a Useless Failure who did not deserve to pollute the internet with my presence. It would have remained a festering mental loss-of-confidence wound for years. Now at least, I just seek to understand what went wrong, then move on. Middle age has its compensations.

I will keep writing daily while I attempt to come up with a new challenge. Suggestions welcomed, and taken under advisement.

Spending time, wasting time, making time

How do you spend your time? I am on holiday just now, and I'm having a great time in spending my time on fripperies... you know: exercise, creative endeavour, a social life, quiet time... all the things I usually don't have time for.

I'm feeling much better for it, too. So how do I bring some of this space and time back into my regular life? Short of winning a lottery (and for that I'd have to have taken a ticket) and giving up paid work, what do I actually do?

Previously, I contented myself with wishing, and threw myself back into the daily grind...

This time I want to effect a more thorough change, and I'll have to say, 'No' to someone, and mostly that will be myself!

I'll have to decide what degree of domestic organisation I need to be comfortable, yet still sneak a little time away from those tasks. (Perhaps I simply need to be more efficient?)

I'll have to resist the urge to do one 'good' activity, in favour of another. We can, with effort, say no to the situations that feel obligatory - and even enjoy our rebellion. When the choices are equally desirable in different ways... Do I weed the garden, or take a walk in the nearby park? Do I join friends for a function, or indulge in some 'alone time'? Do I finish some sewing or knit or write on my blog?

I'm grateful to have such palatable choices, very grateful, but that doesn't make the conundrum any easier... Ultimately, we need to remember that our life is formed from the moment to moment choices. I can't tell you what are good choices for you. I'm still too busy working out what are good choices for me. I do know that when I get the balance right, there seems to be enough time, so part of choosing well is making time, and not just spending or wasting it.

This is post 17 of 365 posts in 365 days.

Volunteering

A friend took me to a local historical site where they were having a big open day. My friend was there as a volunteer and I spent part of the afternoon also helping to dispense tea and cake to the hungry hordes.

It was quite pleasant labour, and reminded me of how often an event is more enjoyable when you have a job to do. The other volunteers were approving, the venue was beautiful, the weather was suitable, and the public were (mostly) polite and appreciative. What's not to like?!

When we think of volunteering, some is us shy away from the commitment. We don't have one day per week to ourselves, let alone to a cause, charity or community group! Instead we ought to look for casual or one-off events where we can volunteer a limited amount of our precious spare time.

It feels good to do something for others, and today the extra charm was in being the 'bonus' helper they weren't expecting to have. An extra pair of hands during cleaning up will always be appreciated.

This is post 17 of 365 posts in 365 days.
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