I’m having a fantastic summer! After spending the three previous summers working on book related deadlines, I’m definitely taking full advantage of my newfound freedom. My evenings and weekends have been filled with barbecues, live music, plays, weekend excursions, or leisurely brunches. Fun, fun, fun!!!
Yet, I can’t seem to escape this nagging feeling of overwhelm. As the summer draws to a close, the tension between the present and the future continues to mount. At times, I feel as if preparing for the future is suffering as I enjoy whatever I’m doing that’s non-work related; other times, I feel as if I’ve sacrificed my personal time for three years and the future can simply wait until I’m ready. (Indignant, right?!)
Well, we all know the adage, “time waits for no one.”
My sense of overwhelm reached a plateau today as I realized that fueling the tension of the present v. future is yet another tension: doing v. thinking. So much so that I decided that the best way to deal with these tensions is to schedule “thinking” time. Initially, I felt ridiculous actually marking a date/time on my calendar with “work space/thinking.” But like anything else, if it’s not on the calendar it isn’t likely to happen. So begins my experiment with scheduling thinking time!
What do you do to bridge the gap between the present v. future and tasks of doing v. thinking? I’d love to know!