Wednesday, February 9, 2022

Time Well Spent

 


When my mother passed away in June of 2020, I was tasked with the huge job of dealing with her estate. This involved cancelling credit cards, contacting her pension and social security, dealing with her material things and a thousand other little things you don't normally think about. When cleaning out her house, my sisters and I divided her things into donate, discard or keep categories. In this process I found a small memo book that she had written down websites that she visited or wanted to visit and a variety of scribbled notes. But, on the inside of the cover she had written down four quotes she had seen somewhere and were important to her. I kept that cover and have it sitting on my desk where I see it everyday. The top quote is "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time". I will save the other three for future posts. 

How true is that statement? "The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time". How often do we look at what other people do and think to ourselves "What a waste of time!". If you are not a golfer, you probably think 4 ours a day golfing is a waste of time. If you are not a fisherman, you probably think an entire day of fishing is a waste of time. The list of wasted time is endless. We see our neighbors and relatives wasting time. We see people we don't know wasting time. We waste a lot of our own time sitting in a dentist waiting area or waiting in traffic. Even in those situations you could turn the wasted time into enjoyed time by reading a magazine or playing a game of Wordle. Don't do these things while wasting time in your car. I recommend good music for that one. 

In retirement, we are supposed to be enjoying our newly found free time. Each of us has our own individual idea of what retirement looks like and have our own ideas of the perfect activities we enjoy. It is our time to enjoy the time. When you are enjoying what you are doing it is not a waste of time, it is a great use of your time. Wasting is not a good word for time you are enjoying, but it makes for a decent quote and makes you think about it a little. 

I enjoy spending time on my metal detecting hobby. Some would say I'm wasting hours of time digging in the dirt for a few small coins. Like most hobbies, I certainly don't do it to make money. But, I enjoy that time a lot. I enjoy spending time working in the yard or just messing around in the garage with some small project. I can "waste" a whole day doing little things that bring me joy. A normal day might include me tightening a screw on the mailbox, trimming the shrubs, washing my truck, etc.  Another time waster that I enjoy is laying in the pool on a float and listening to music and the pool waterfalls. That is some highly enjoyable wasted time! During that time I am doing absolutely nothing and accomplishing nothing but enjoying every second of it!

What do you enjoy wasting time on? Anyone have something unique that you enjoy and that someone else would say you are wasting your time? What are the things that you feel you really are wasting time on?

Get out there and enjoy your time moment by moment and remember as long as you enjoy wasting time, it is not wasted time!


12 comments:

  1. Thank you, what a wonderful quote and exactly what I need to tell myself to dispel that silly guilt when I joyfully fritter time on what I consider pointless but totally enjoyable inactivity.

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  2. I think my biggest time waste is when I do activities in procrastination. I've come to believe that there is no "nothing." Even when you're lying in the pool, you're resting, taking in the environment, listening to music, thinking. There's a line from the movie, The Color Purple - sometimes I sets and thinks and sometimes I just set. Neither setting or thinking is "nothing."

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    1. I agree with that movie line! Sometimes just being quiet and in the moment while doing nothing is just fine.

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  3. Your post, and you mom's quote echo my take on mundane tasks and what most consider wasted time. I see that time as a bonus. The chores have to be done, so why not use the time to think through a problem or explore a train of thought.

    I totally agree with your mom that time others might see as wasted, is not if you are doing something you enjoy or use it to think through something.

    Waste is really a judgment call that only the individual involved can make.

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    1. I also think if we feel we are truly wasting time, we will find something else to do. Thanks for your comment!

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  4. Thanks for the quote, which was new to me. If it's ok with you I think I'll print it out so I can refer to it on a regular basis.

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    1. Mom and I would be honored if you printed it and put it somewhere to refer to!

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  5. Interesting quote. I spend a lot of time drawing and painting things no one else will ever see (until they go through my things when I’m gone I suppose!). I do it I think to see if I can capture my view of things and to play with colors. But it is no use to anyone and I often think to myself, I should be doing something more productive. Maybe not!

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    1. You don't have to be productive to enjoy things. Keep on painting!

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  6. Some would think blogging and reading blogs is a waste of time but I enjoy it. My biggest time waster is my iPad. I love playing games while I’m doing it but often feel I should be using my time better. But I must not feel strongly about it enough to change as here I sit with my iPad!!!

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    1. I enjoy reading blogs also. If you enjoy the iPad time, keep on doing it!

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