On weekend writing
By
George demonstrates perfectly what weekends are all about...
When I worked for a corporate company, the weekends were something I looked forward to in the same way as you crave water when you’re thirsty. It was like putting the week on fast forward, thinking ahead until you hit Friday afternoon, and then suddenly everything changes – you’re about to be free! Two whole days of bliss!
It’s funny when I think back to that now. Other than having Paul around for two days, which is lovely, there’s not always anything to differentiate the weekend from the rest of the week. I still wake up and write first thing, and then the day progresses pretty much dependent upon how much I have on, how many words need churning out, and how messy the house is.
I’ve made a decision to get back some of the magic of the weekend. Admittedly, I still have some elements of the Friday feeling, as I write daily blog posts which stop over Saturday and Sunday, meaning I could in theory get up later, and actually do…nothing. This wouldn’t sit well with me though, as I think I’ve mentioned before that my laptop is a little like an extra limb for me, and going without it for a full day would be like limping. However, this morning seems different. Paul is still asleep, George is sitting around my neck, and the sun is coming through the window. This may not sound particularly significant, but after a week of rain, darkness and gales, it heralds the beginning of a beautiful day, full of promise.
This week I pledge that, instead of pouncing on Paul and asking him to do housework with me, we’ll go out and play. I’m going to shut down my trusty PC in a moment and pick up some knitting, walk the dogs or just do nothing. I’m going to read a book, go out with Paul and have some fun. I actually feel like a revolutionary writing that. This shows me that it’s time to get back to the work/life balance business that everyone writes about with so much affection.
So, I’m going to ignore the blog for a whole weekend, and see how it feels about it. This doesn’t mean that you guys are exempt from commenting though. Just because I’m slacking off for a couple of days doesn’t mean that you can too. Blogs are like children, from what I’ve learned. They don’t like being neglected!
I hope you all have a superb weekend, make the most of the weather, for what it’s worth, and arrive back at your various posts on Monday morning feeling refreshed, full of energy, and positive.
Hello Jen!
What a lovely thing to do… set out to “enjoy” your weekend and do something that makes you feel happy! You are right – sometimes its easy to get stuck in a rut and spend your time doing “chores” – now we are pensioners it is easy for each day to remain the same boring routines – so what I do is this..
My laptop sits on the dining room table facing the patio doors and looking out into the garden so whilst I am typing/playing or whatever, I can see the changing seasons, the birds searching for a tasty morsel and the blue sky (like this morning!) and when its a gorgeous stunning day we leave the dust to gather and ignore the unwashed pots and go out! The buses are free!! so we have no excuse not to take advantage and go and wander about…
Have a brilliant weekend and hope you don’t miss your laptop too much!!!
Mo x
Hello lovely Mo,
Superb idea – combining laptop duties with real life – much better than when I work, as I seem to sit in a darkened room with blinds drawn against the sun. I should work in IT, really. You make me wish for retirement so i can do the same!
With love x
I think it’s right that you stop working from time to time. For me, as well as the relaxing, it can help me with my perspective on life. Maybe a good example comes from work. If I have some task to do then I can start straight away and spend hours on it, but on the other side if I take some minutes first to pause and think then I see other better solutions. Perhaps that is the purpose of weekends but on a scale more large? A chance to leave the train which never stops, say, and look around, and take some time to decide where to travel next?
Hello Jon – I missed you! Just retrived this from the spam folder for some reason but so glad to see you back on the site. It’s a lovely thought, that weekends are there to give perspective on work from a distance, making us more effective when we go back to it. Does this mean I am actually being highly productive, when i do nothing?
Thank you for commenting!
Good on ya Jen – all work and no play and all that!! Have a great weekend doing fun things with Paul and the kids. Only wish we could be there with you. We’ve been out this morning taking photographs at a remembrance service. Sounds pretty sad I know but it was quite nice to see all the old veterans wearing their medals with pride and obviously happy to be there remembering old friends who weren’t so lucky. This afternoon will be spent grocery shopping and housework, but what the heck!! XX
Thank you! It was lovely…but Monday comes around far too quickly for me! x
Hi Jen
I’d take a tip from George, who seems to have mastered the art of relaxation, whether it’s the weekend or a ‘working’ day – I’m sure he’s not feeling at all guilty. Neither is our cat!
Enjoy yourselves.
Jan
Very good idea Jan! He knows better than most how to lie back and do absolutely nothing! x