Doing Nothing

Blog No. 97

For anyone who is a fan of Office Space, the idea of doing nothing isn’t a new one. In the movie the main character says that when he was asked by his guidance councilor what he would do if he had a million dollars, the answer was – nothing. That’s a statement I can agree with. If I had more money that I could ever spend, I would probably end up doing nothing but nothing for the rest of my life. I know this because with all the things I have to do (and want to do) I still end up spending most of my days off wasting time and goofing off. It’s not something I’m proud of, or even alone in doing. A lot of people I know suffer from the some problem. Sometimes it’s over prepping for a task, or wanting to catch up on something less important, or even just getting in a quick show before getting started and ending up spending the day watching netflix.

What gets me about the whole thing is, while it’s a problem many people suffer with, my parents aren’t those people. They are up early and finishing jobs before they head to work. Then it’s back to task before dinner than a short rest before bed. My dad would just as soon go work in the basement for twelve hours a day than watch TV or surf the net. At least my mom likes watching movies while she works. The problem is that she’s all over the house and so focused on the job that she misses big chunks of the move – which is why she usually sticks to movies she’s already seen.

So the precedence is there. I grew up with those values and two role models illustrating the point. I’d like to think that some of that has worn off on me, but for the most part, I care so little about the same sorts of things that I’d rather wait until I have no choice but to get the jobs done and it becomes a big, rushed, mess. I’ve gotten much better over the years and I’ve had times where I’m much more proactive and others where it’s a struggle to get the minimum done. It’s still an issue for me though. I work a job that has long days and random hours which usually leaves me with several free days a week. I look at those days and get excited at all the possibility and promise they hold. It’s an entire day to relax, recuperate, and catch up on all the work I can’t do when I’m working a ten hour day. I’ve even gotten to the point where I have the days planned out with all the things I have to do (including some leisure time). It’s just so easy to fall into a slump and waste the whole day.

Some days it’s so bad, I end up getting more personal work done on the days I work. The momentum and resolution that I’m already working and don’t have time to rest, ends up resulting in some pretty good productivity. Even with those good days, I still have a ton of things to catch up on. And as so many other people know, the list never shrinks, it only grows. With Adventure Worlds maintenance, editing, correspondence, and daily shores, there is hardly any time to actually write. Though, there probably would be if I got to work sooner, rather than watching a TV show I’ve seen a dozen times, or reading a book I read only a few months prior. It’s an uphill battle, but I’m starting to make headway. For me, ‘tis the season where I’m most productive and eager to get back on track. I think it has something to do with the end of the year being in site and remembering how well I was doing at the beginning of this year. Either way, it’s a good feeling to get things done – which is what I tell myself when I do get things done. When I don’t, it just feels so go to do nothing.