There is a saying, I don't know who said it, and I really can't be bothered looking it up, which says that if "you want things done quickly then ask a busy person".
I was reminded of this when sitting in the conservatory, reading a magazine and waiting for the bread rolls to defrost themselves so I can make sandwiches for lunch. Now readers may be thinking that having plenty of time so I can muse, read and generally do nothing is a good thing, well perhaps, but now as an inhabitant of the "retiredsphere" ........oh I think I may have just invented that as a new made up word, based on blogsphere, websphere and other words which may not yet been recognised by the OED nor indeed by the word processor spellchecker, but are used in more trendy publications and sometimes in real life......but I digress.
The point is that not working for a living and ............. perhaps diferently from the unemployed, having no intention of working again, even supposing someone wants to employ me.............I have much, if not total, control of my time.
I look at my diary, there are events, sitting in Court, attending meetings, training people in computers, all these being voluntary but dictated to some extent by others; hospital, doctors etc which are also imposed and others which are agreed time slots to eg visit someone, go out to dinner or the cinema etc but this still leaves swathes of time as yet unallocated.
My time picture seems to have days when I am busy doing different things in different places and absent from the house for many hours, whilst on other days, there is nothing. Now this doesn't mean that there is nothing to do, domestic stuff like washing, hoovering, though most of this is delegated to the Irobot Roomba, as is lawn cutting to the Robomow, but there is still the loading and unloading of dishwashers and some light dusting etc but I am not so structured that I schedule these things in, rather I do them as I think about them ... and this is the point, in addition to domestic stuff, there is other things, go shopping, plan holidays, fill cars up with petrol or diesel, (preferably the right stuff for the right vehicle) and more interestingly, the more developmental type tasks, ie things which are 'new' rather than ones that just maintain the status quo. Indeed I constantly update the "ToDo" list with such matters of all descriptions. It may be a sign of old age but I sometimes find myself thinking of something that should be done but immediately forget it, writing it down (for writing substitute typing of course) helps. So to the title of this piece why is that given a completely empty day, do I put off doing things. I may think about doing it, I may mentally plan it, but I don't.
As I report in a previous post, I have the great unfinished novel and I keep thinking about doing it, but haven't yet. This blog evolved from the sitting down activity which I opened on, and only became action as I had to get up to answer the door bell and take a parcel, so on the way back, I stopped at the computer and captured the thoughts. Your own opinions on whether I should have carried on walking are of course for you to have.
So does it mean that human beings, or is it just me, perform better when someone else structures things for them. At work you have a boss who controls your time, self employed ?... well you have those customers who want you to do things when they want them....in 'retiredzone'...... OK I'll stop making up new words ..... and especially when alone without the benefit of a partner or offspring who otherwise also manage your time, you are left taking responsibility for yourself. Maybe being the manager of time and the user of time are incompatible activities, maybe some people just are procrastinators by nature.
I think in my case I like new things, I get bored with routine and I haven't learnt to completely manage myself.
Anyway enough time wasted on blogging, the rolls are defrosted....................and I have the afternoon and evening to avoid things in.
