It used to be that I could save tasks that require extra focus and time for the weekends. My husband would be home to watch the children so I could work on things that really needed that extra uninterrupted time. But it seems that, lately, EVERYTHING is getting saved for the weekends, and not just stuff I have to do in which I'll need some supervision for the little ones.
I was chatting with an editor yesterday and I related this very dillemma to her. I shared my frustration over having to do the formatting of my manuscript for the publisher on the weekends. The soonest I get that done, the soonest I can send it off! But with the writing job and editing ANOTHER book, I just couldn't fit it into my week. I had to throw extra work into my weekends, a time we're supposed to relax from work. She could relate. She told me how she has MORE to do on the weekends than during her whole week! I guess not having to work on the weekends means that traditional "break from work" is instead "extra time to work."
When I was divorced, I used my weekends to catch up on leisurely activities. I'd spend hours reading, I'd experiment with art, hang out at a coffee house, go for walks and visit the library. Since having child #2, those kind of weekends are LONG GONE.
In fact, I can't even remember the joy of what going for one of my walks is like. Only that I miss them.
At first, I took pride in being so busy ALL THE TIME. It's good to be busy, right?? Good to have things going on that occupies my time. But the more I miss out on having some "fun time" with the older child, the less and less time I get to share with my husband and the even less time I have free to call my mom, read a book and go for one of those walks, the more I am beginning to wonder just exactly where the workweek ends and the weekend begins.
In fact, I'm beginning to see how so little of a "weekend" I have these days. Never mind that Saturday means husband will be home for dinner and I'll get to cook a decent meal. Never mind that Sunday means church. All that I know is that these two days mean "more work" and "less relaxation."
And by work, I'm not talking about taking care of the children and cleaning the house. I ALREADY do that during the week! That's a part of my every day life! What I'm talking about is researching my articles, working on my books, home improvement, running errands, etc.
It seems that the weekend, our supposed "time to rest," is becoming more and more extinct. These days, our "time to rest" happens for just an hour or two at night before we go to bed. Or in the little time we can steal away from the world to lock ourselves in the bathroom, just so we can have a few minutes of peace of mind.
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Creating Scenes
3 weeks ago
1 comment:
Dawn, I can relate, since my outside job involves working weekends. What I did was designate one day during the week as a "rest day." Take that day to go for a walk, play with your kids, phone your mom, cook a swell meal for your family. Trade babysitting with a friend to get time to yourself. Pick the day you usually have the least work, not the day tradition says you should pick. But take one day every week for yourself.
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