balancing work and play
i have a fair amount of hobbies. reading, crochet and listening to music are the main ones. but i also like playing cosy games, sudoku, making stuff out of clay, wax sealing, solo card games, and writing over here.
this is all good. the issue, however, is that i rarely have the time to do all these things. this used to be because i was doom scrolling instead of engaging with my hobbies- and just burn through all my time.
once i stopped doom scrolling and focusing on getting my stuff done though, i found that my actual priorities ate up my time too. this isn't a bad thing, but it does disappoint me. this is especially for reading which i end up sacrificing. i would study on and off, but if i feel like i haven't done enough i would make myself study instead of the reading that i was anticipating throughout the day.
maybe that's why time management is important, to stop those all-or-nothing days; i found that sometimes i do all studying and no fun, and others no studying at all.
in my mind, time management or just productivity has two important elements: doing the stuff you have to do, and doing the stuff that you want to do (while still staying on track with the important things). i have got the first one down to some extent, and need to work on the second. but i do feel like they complement each other, in some way. in order to stay focused on a task, i need to be promised of a reward at the end. but i know that i need to get the work done otherwise i will 'punish' myself by studying in the time that was previously reserved for fun purposes.
will my must-do and want-to-do be at constant battle with each other? only time will tell
(note: this is not a self help guide, it's more of a personal reflection. also, anything is better than doom scrolling)