By the time this blog posts gets published, I would have taken 3 days off work this year since Christmas last year. I had changed jobs when the pandemic hit so have still been trying to accumulate annual leave days although at Christmas- there will be forced shut down of the office.

But it has come the time to have a break. I just need it. There are so many things I want to do other than work. I’m still baffled at the whole working life. Spending 30 something hours a week working, then minus the amount of hours you’re sleeping. This leaves you with roughly 1/2 of the weeks hours left for yourself. Some of this time is spent preparing for work (ironing, food prepping, commute time and personal organisation for the week). Which leaves you with even fewer time to spend! If anyone has any hacks to maximise the hours available for leisure- please let me know your tips and tricks.

One of the best work advice I have heard is to leave work on time because no-one will ever tell you to. Work will keep giving you work. I’ve held this advice close to my heart and can separate my life from work quite well. If a patient is not dying, it can wait until tomorrow I say.

It’s strange having a whole day (or 3) to do whatever you want. I always try to spend more time outdoors as it’s nice to be moving and not sitting all day. I’ve had time to tend to my belongings- rearranging and decluttering. Sifting through the unwanted papers and junk drawers. I’ve had time to read at leisure, work on my other hobbies and dance like no-ones watching. There were times when I felt like I had to “make the most of my time off” which is something that I get on weekends too. Whilst it makes me ensure I have scheduled walks or city exploration time- I also feel this pressure to do as much as possible and everything when I should be resting but when I don’t have plans, it really irks me. Does anyone else get this?

There’s so much I want to learn and read about and so little time. I need more time to spend on my language learning. More time to read about world events and causes I’m interested in supporting but don’t know how. More time to see nature’s gifts. These make me feel more human and connected. Not sending emails and meeting key performance indicators.

Sending you all calmness and wonder.