Monday Musings
 |
| 185/365: pink geranium |
Over the weekend I gave some thought to how my efforts to kick start my social life post lockdown is going. My aim is to have enough to do but to avoid overloading myself. I see my ideal life as being calm but with patches of busyness thrown in without the need to be rushing from one thing to another, and I still want to spend a good deal of time on my own just pottering, enjoying my own company and doing whatever I want to do.
I know that I cope much better when I have a schedule of sorts, not to be rigidly followed in any way but enough for me to know that I have things to do, some social events to keep me happy, and lots of time to have my own adventures ... I live alone and the days can be long so I like to know that I have things to keep me occupied and things look forward to. I already know I have enough daily things to occupy myself with ... piano practice, Italian practice, a 10 - 20 minutes walk, and chatting with all of you via this blog, all of which accounts for about 2/2½ hours of my day, so I'm not really looking to add in any more daily commitments. Weekly activities currently only account for 5 hours of my time during a week but I doubt that I will be looking for any more just yet ... there's my piano lesson, the two online nutrition classes, the personal training session, and there will be a weekly Italian conversation online session starting next week (I think). All together my daily and weekly commitments leave plenty of spare time for other things, even for housework but I've tried my best to suppress that sort of thinking!
For monthly things there's now the Ladies That Lunch as I've decided to give the WI a try and that offers the potential for additional monthly events ... I know there's a reading/book group, day trips, and quizzes, all I which I'd be interested in. As for rebuilding my friendship group, if things work out with meeting up with A to play Scrabble it'll mean that I'll have four friends that I will be meeting up with regularly (J, L, Joy, and A) and others less regularly (H, K, E, E, L&P) and at the moment that feels enough as there's also time with family, which includes J and her daughters, to consider as well.
Obviously I am more than pleased with how things are going but I've decided that, for now, I'll shelf the idea to join a choir and just see how things go. Life is definitely different now in that meeting up with people is arranged rather than just dropping in on a friend for a chat or people just calling in here but I'm okay with that. I don't know how it'll all work out as it seems that Covid numbers are on the increase again so that may impact on what it feels safe to do, but I have made a start and that feels good!
I enjoyed a quiet weekend at home so am meeting today head on with plans to work through some of the correspondence that's arrived in the last few days. It's all or nothing isn't it, and the post has brought three complicated forms that will be time consuming to complete and return. I'll make a start on the worst one this morning and there's a supermarket delivery due between 9am and 1pm. I hope it arrives early as L is coming to lunch and the lunch ingredients are in the delivery!
I've found it is all too easy to go from doing not-a-lot to filling every spare hour of the day with 'stuff' and neither of these are all that helpful. I tried to keep one day a week completely clear but that day now has something in it, but first thing so I can jolly off afterwards, if I fancy.
ReplyDeleteGood luck with the forms, especially the complicated one. xx
I'm the same and am hoping this is a good balance. At the moment I have 3 days a week free, Mon, Sat and Sun, although the WI is on a Monday evening but only once a month and my longer term plan is to use those days for short breaks away.
DeleteThe form is done and will be posted tomorrow but I think it's just the starter and will lead to more forms to complete! xx
You have worked things out extremely well. Good for you not making the housework a high priority, it gets done when it gets done is my motto now :) I always book a fixed one hourly slot with Tesco which I find to be much better for me and as I pay the monthly fee it doesn't matter how much a chosen slot costs. I hope your form filling goes well and enjoy your lunch with L today.
ReplyDeleteMy longer term plan is to get a cleaner so the housework can get done without any effort required of me!
DeleteThe forms done thankfully and my delivery has arrived ... lots of substitutions but all reasonably sensible ones and at least the fridge and cupboards now have plenty in them. I'm just waiting for L now and then the fun part of the day can start.
I am much like you and enjoy a routine, we always have an alarm Monday to Friday, 7am in summer and 8am in winter. It gives structure to the whole week. I still think in terms of morning for house work, ect and afternoons for fun, not that I need to do housework every day. My Yoga class has stalled after getting covid, hopefully once negative, I can leave a few buffer days and then get back out doing things.
ReplyDeleteI usually wake naturally before 6 am so have packed the alarm away and will just rely on my phone for the odd occasions when I need one. I like to get all the 'must do' things out of the way first so I can have the rest of the day to do as I please without feeling guilty.
DeleteI hope you test negative soon. What a shame that you were struck down with Covid so soon after starting the yoga class.
Your diary does have a plan of many activities, all but one, housework, seem to have a blend of learning, connecting & laughing; a blend that makes for a happy life. I am currently working on some better time management & I've actually put blocks in for the fun stuff, so it doesn't get lost in the all the have to's. Actually using coloured markers to make a July calendar was a lot of fun ... (col).
ReplyDeleteI'm hoping I have the balance right but time will tell. I've planned my time like that in the past, allocating different colours to different categories ... it's fun isn't it!
DeleteIt sounds like things are nicely coming together. You have found some joyful things around you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Lyssa. I just have to make it all work for me now! 😏
DeleteI love the post title of Monday Musings!
ReplyDeleteIt sounds like you have managed to find a nice balance of time alone/time spent with others, unstructured time/structured time, solo activities/social activities, etc. I think you'll find out, by the end of the month, how well it is working out for you or if you need to make some adjustments.
By the way, I thought of you on Friday, when I turned the page on my wall calendar and saw what was a mostly blank page! I have 3 "must do" things listed for this month - a doctor's appointment, a blood test to be scheduled for prior to the doctor's appt., and a smog check for the car, sometime this week or next. Nothing else since I opted out of the baby shower for my cousin's daughter! Of course, there are the twice a week visits by M to tend to the garden and I'll probably do a curb-side visit with friend R for her birthday - I see the calendar filling up! :D
I'm hoping I have the balance right but time will tell. Quite a lot of the things can be moved to a different date/time without too much hassle so it shouldn't be too hard to get it to all fit in together!
DeleteBlank or mostly blank pages in diaries/calendars are good but it is so easy to fill up the days as you are finding out! I think you usually have your days arranged well to suit the things you want to do, and you have plenty of interaction with daughter, family and friends as well.
We have just had a weekend with a pleasant blend of busy and not - so I agree that is a lovely way to be social. Good luck with the paperwork!
ReplyDeleteThe paperwork is proving to be easier than I thought it would be, so it'll soon be finished.
DeleteIt's getting the balance right with socialising, isn't it?