Like most of my peers, I’m a busy woman.
I’m saying this despite being in what is considered a “comfortable” teaching job that involves no unmanageable work pressure.
And I live right next to my college, so I can’t even complain about time wasted in traffic.
Yet, between the umpteen things on my “To do” list, it seems like 24 hours in a day is not enough. Now, some people will say that I’m the one that creates some of the busy-ness with my writing or volunteering or reading. That’s ok – I’m too nice to call them out on how they create their busy-ness with their shopping trips, or watching Big Boss, or catching up on the latest gossip 😜
Often, I daydream of a life where there are no “must do’s” and “can’t afford to not do’s”. Have patience, I tell myself, your time will come too.
About a month ago, a conversation suddenly changed my perspective on these “boring” jobs that seem to be eating up my time.
My eldest sister’s husband is a National award winning writer. He’s very active in poetry-writing, drama and theatre too, and has performed on All India Radio in the past. He retired about a year ago from his work as a Manager in Canara Bank, and since then, has greater time to pursue his interests.
A few days ago, another of my sisters remarked to our brother-in-law that it must be nice to be retired, with so much time to devote to things one has not had time to do while busy with a career. It seems he agreed with her, but then, also made another point. He told her how it sometimes gets boring too – how much reading and writing can someone do throughout the day, day after day?
As I tried to imagine the scenario he described, I realized that indeed, having a lot of time on one’s hands may be quite a difficult situation. Besides, it’s the things I do every day at work and at home and outside that provide inspiration for the things I write, and also bring readers to my blog. If I didn’t have those, what would I write about? For whom?
And there’s a kind of thrill when you try to beat the clock and get a lot done in 24 hours. So, it’s worth enjoying this process, too!
Even as I’m writing this post, I remember this old English song I heard and memorized in my childhood….makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
I’m saying this despite being in what is considered a “comfortable” teaching job that involves no unmanageable work pressure.
And I live right next to my college, so I can’t even complain about time wasted in traffic.
Yet, between the umpteen things on my “To do” list, it seems like 24 hours in a day is not enough. Now, some people will say that I’m the one that creates some of the busy-ness with my writing or volunteering or reading. That’s ok – I’m too nice to call them out on how they create their busy-ness with their shopping trips, or watching Big Boss, or catching up on the latest gossip 😜
Often, I daydream of a life where there are no “must do’s” and “can’t afford to not do’s”. Have patience, I tell myself, your time will come too.
About a month ago, a conversation suddenly changed my perspective on these “boring” jobs that seem to be eating up my time.
My eldest sister’s husband is a National award winning writer. He’s very active in poetry-writing, drama and theatre too, and has performed on All India Radio in the past. He retired about a year ago from his work as a Manager in Canara Bank, and since then, has greater time to pursue his interests.
A few days ago, another of my sisters remarked to our brother-in-law that it must be nice to be retired, with so much time to devote to things one has not had time to do while busy with a career. It seems he agreed with her, but then, also made another point. He told her how it sometimes gets boring too – how much reading and writing can someone do throughout the day, day after day?
As I tried to imagine the scenario he described, I realized that indeed, having a lot of time on one’s hands may be quite a difficult situation. Besides, it’s the things I do every day at work and at home and outside that provide inspiration for the things I write, and also bring readers to my blog. If I didn’t have those, what would I write about? For whom?
And there’s a kind of thrill when you try to beat the clock and get a lot done in 24 hours. So, it’s worth enjoying this process, too!
Even as I’m writing this post, I remember this old English song I heard and memorized in my childhood….makes a lot of sense, doesn’t it?
Thank you so much for sharing this Anusuya. It gave me a different perspective on my daily 'run rabbit run'. I will remember this when I'm wishing for my quieter days as a millionaire.
ReplyDeleteOh, I'm so thrilled you read my blog, Debbie. I'm happy you could relate to this perspective. Thank you!
DeleteNice.
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