Tag: no time to waste
Because Tove Lo Made Eating Dinner in the Bathtub Acceptable
When Tove Lo sings about eating dinner in the bathtub, I’m thinking “right on!” Now that is a great time-saving life hack. I also admire her determination to get over her broken relationship, but cannot recommend using the rest of her lyrics as advice.
I once thought doing a parody of Katy Perry’s “Last Friday Night” would be fun, but only got as far as standing on a bar room chair before I got yelled at by the bouncer. I didn’t even get to the dancing on the table tops part. It was good night, anyway. I played tambourine on stage with the band. Percussion instruments are my specialty.
Anyway, I mention that as another example of gleaning the wisdom wherever you can while having the sense to ignore the parts that are going to get you thrown out of a club or desperately picking up daddies on the playground. In case it isn’t clear, those parts are NOT good advice to emulate; they are the parts to ignore.
Anyway, back to eating dinner in the bathtub. As I mentioned in my recent blog post, I’m all for drinking coffee in the shower, or even making coffee while reclining in bed. Showering is not recommended for most solid foods, however, because obviously you’re risking your meal disintegrating in front of your eyes. A bath is more logical for solid foods, especially pizza or boxed chocolates because they are easy to grip and less likely to become blended with your bath oils. Tove Lo knows what she’s talking about here.
Dinner’s over; sleepy time!
A commenter suggested upgrading the bedside coffee hack to include a mini-fridge in place of a traditional nightstand in order to make a complete breakfast. This shows real ingenuity, especially because it broadens the options for eating dinner in bed as well. If you’re having such a hard time waking up in the morning that you have to make breakfast in bed, you are also probably tired enough to go to bed at dinner time.
Taking the evening meal in bed has endless possibilities because you can prepare any food that you want in the kitchen first and then take it to bed on a plate or a wad of paper towels. If you have life hacked your way up to mini-fridge-nightstand status, even better. Skip the kitchen and make dinner in bed, too. That hour that you would have spent preparing, consuming and cleaning up after a meal translates into an extra hour in bed. Who’s not up for that?!
I’ve been a fan of eating dinner in bed for a long time. A full stomach makes one tired, so you’re on your way to falling asleep quickly. And on the other hand, if you take your laptop to bed in the evening, you might as well maximize your multitasking by answering emails or posting on Facebook while eating. Tip: taking breaks to clean your fingers with a wet wipe will prevent your keyboard from getting greasy.
Years ago, someone said to me, “I wouldn’t kick you out of bed for eating crackers.” The compliment was totally lost on me – Southerners and their Southern charm! Because it is totally normal and expected to eat crackers in bed. Anything you can eat out of the container it came in is a natural bedtime food choice.
I regularly settle under the covers for the night with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s or a box of crackers. It’s not like I eat junk food all the time, unlike Tove Lo and her Twinkies. I often choose gluten-free crackers. Sometimes I’ll even eat raw carrots; as many as will fit into an improvised paper towel baggie.
So there you have it. Just as coffee in bed immediately upon waking is recommended to jump-start your day, so is ending it on a comforting note by snuggling under the covers with your dinner.
Well. I guess there’s one more thing. Remember that you can find wisdom in just about anything if you’re looking for it. Just be sure to separate out the helpful information from the bad advice.
An Abundance of Time, No Time to Waste
I had an abundance of free time.
After I quit my job and returned home from my summer writing program, I had things to do. Those things just didn’t take up much time. The startup business that I co-founded moved very slowly. I met with my business partner once each week and I completed the tasks I was responsible for in a few hours in between those meetings. And, I started writing a book. But I was only able to write for an hour or two a day before the part of my brain responsible for getting coherent sentences onto my PC would shut off.
That left a lot of free time.
I’d wake up in the morning, make tea, meditate, and then…
Exactly. And then what?
Exercise most days. Go to a writing group, visit a friend for lunch, read, or take a walk. Attend meetings for associations I belong to. Read poetry at open mic events. A little consulting and volunteering here and there. I took an eight-week improv acting class, visited three wild animal rescue centers, traveled to Idaho for a retreat and took two trips to California.
It wasn’t that I was wasting time. In fact I refused to waste time by watching tv, aimlessly surfing the web, playing games on my phone or doing anything that didn’t feel meaningful. I refused to be busy for the sake of distracting myself. And so without much distraction, I had A LOT of time to experience a full range of thoughts and feelings that otherwise I wouldn’t have time for.
It felt like I was on an endless silent retreat, left alone with my thoughts and feelings.
Some feelings were positive. Getting plugged into the Seattle writing community was fun and interesting, and sometimes I felt happy and excited about the projects I was working on. But I often felt uncertain and doubtful about whether I was spending my time on the right things. Should I be traveling more or volunteering overseas, since I had so much flexibility? There were plenty of hours when I was restless and wanted something else to do besides work on my business or write, but I didn’t know what.
Then I felt guilty for not enjoying the luxury of time that I had.
I made a list of activities that I felt were justifiable ways to spend my time. The title of this word document was “Meaningful Ways to Spend My Time that Align With My Values.” I’m not kidding. The list wasn’t all about work; it included options like gardening, hanging out at the park and emailing friends. Having an approved list of activities was an attempt to feel OK about how I was spending my time but it didn’t help much. I had a relentless sense of needing to be productive and make a positive contribution to the world. It’s both grandiose and deeply true.
I had great days when I got a lot of writing done or took an inspiring class. I had many more days when I felt like an unanchored boat being tossed by the waves.
All of that changed when I started a full time consulting position. I am much happier now, no question about it. I still write, work on my business, go to yoga and see friends. I have plenty of time, energy and the flexibility for those things beyond my day job. I didn’t need that list of approved activities – I needed predictable work that took up more time, gave me structure, earned income and allowed me to contribute on a daily basis.
Some people might do well with a lot of unstructured free time. Those people are either more enlightened than me or less driven. Or maybe they just like tv.
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