Making the Plan to Have No Plans #AdultingisHard #ThoughtfulTuesday

The hashtag “adulting is hard” is a real thing.

Lately it’s been a struggle to find the down time even on the weekend. Life gets busy both personally and professionally.

So when the opportunity to binge watch Stranger Things: Season 2 came along this weekend while in my pajamas on a couch came along I jumped at the opportunity. I mean jumped like I had nothing to lose and everything to gain.

Sprinkled in that binge session was an outing to go see the Rise of the Jack O’Lanterns in Old Westbury. An event that had already been rescheduled a few times with this being the last weekend to see the beautiful pumpkin creations before Halloween was already over.

Suffice to say this weekend of laziness was exactly what I needed.

My goal and mission to finish Stranger Things 2 in one day was accomplished. My goal of staying in sweats all day on Saturday and most of Sunday was accomplished. You can call it laziness I call it pure bliss.

I had a relaxing weekend of doing nothing. It was amazing. But I had to work to plan that weekend of nothing.

Gone are the days of having built in relaxation days. There are far too many days where things need to get done.

People often joke and ask what are you going to do with all your free time when you finish your doctoral degree but the reality of the situation is that the free time you should have just gets absorbed by something else. Truly there is no abundance of free time once the doctoral degree is finished. I’m sure many of my #sadoc friends agree. That time escaped our busy hurried lives many moons ago, with or without the #sadoc.

What I can say however is how necessary these days of no plans are in our lives. A weekend of binge watching and staying in was what I needed to recharge but the question is what do you need to recharge? Do not forget in the daily hustle to take a moment for yourself. That time of self care and rejuvenation looks different for all of us. One weekend it may be binge watching TV while another it may be binge reading a book. I’ve done both. Some weekends it’s just time with family and friends. All these moments add up and help create the necessary work life integration we all need.

The real thing to keep in mind is what do you need to keep taking care of yourself because friends, burnout is a real thing. Be mindful of your needs because sometimes if you don’t slow down and take a breather life will force you to slow down. I know I’d much rather call the shots and do it my way.