Netflix, work, and boring cooking: How I stay sane

To stay refreshed and come back here night after night …

I Netflix when I can. I’m just going to take the liberty of making that into a verb, because it’s quicker to say that than “I watch Netflix for a ridiculous amount of time.”

I also work. Weird, I do feel refreshed after particularly well-rounded and productive days. A well-rounded and productive day for me is when I’ve done actual desk work, talked with some folks, helped some people out, and crossed things off my list. Luckily, being on a technology team, many of my days are like this.

I do yoga and volleyball sometimes, too. That release of endorphins is refreshing and satisfying – sort of like a Coke, but healthier!

I cook – but not like, crazy, improvised, Ratatouille-rat-on-drugs-style cooking where compatible ingredients just make their way from my head to the stove.

This is not how I cook. Although it would be extremely cool if I did.

No, I am indeed not blessed creatively like that. I follow actual recipe books, quaintly chop up my vegetables, and group them in nice, little bowls. Boring cooking, that’s my style.

I’ll go right ahead and actually answer the alternative questions, too! If I could step into a time machine that gave me more time, how would I structure my day? What would I write with this extra time?

If the U.S. suddenly decided to structure their workforce like Sweden and work only 6 hours a day, I would love that. I would love that so hard, go home at 2pm, do yoga in the afternoon, practice on my guitar, and write song lyrics. I would have the bandwidth in my brain needed to create songs of sentiment and tangibility. Actual full-bodied songs. It would be like this blog! Except with a melody!

What about you? If you had a few more hours of time, what would you write more about? I’d love to know!

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DAY 9 ASSIGNMENT: Writing and Not Writing

What do you do when you’re not writing? How do you reset and return to this dashboard, refreshed? What do you need in your day-to-day life to maintain balance: Running? Yoga? Gardening? Painting? Cooking?

If you’re not a full-time writer, or if your day is so full of other tasks that you have little time to write, consider these alternative questions: if you could step into a machine that gave you more time, how would you structure your day? What would you write with this extra time?