As for as weekends go during these time of the coronavirus, I try to stay home as much as possible. Aside from the requisite run for groceries (got to eat, right?) and the occasional drive of the GT3 to keep its battery in top shape, weekends are spent at home, limiting exposure to the outside. Anyone with a functioning twitter feed would know the COVID situation in America is still far from ideal, so even though the strict lockdowns of early Spring have since expired, I’ve thus far have stuck to those same habits. The coronavirus is not something I want to catch, even if statistically I am very likely to survive it.
The problem then becomes I quickly run out of things to do at home. Not one for marathon session of television shows or video games, the weekends have started to get rather boring. I’d find ways to entertain myself, and lately it’s coming up blank more often than not. What I failed to realize is that the scenario as it is presented may perhaps be perfect already: I should simply do nothing if there is indeed nothing to do, though apparently that’s easier said than done.
I’ve been so trained on what people call “hustle culture” that it feels utterly wrong to have idle time. Spare hours outside of work should be allocated towards self improvement, in whatever form that may be: reading a novel, learning how to code, or working on a “side hustle”. We’re told that’s the recipe for success in life, and this is why it’s so awkward to not do anything on the weekends. When you’re used to business on the weekdays, i’s surprisingly discomforting to put a stop to that work for a few days. There’s an immediate sense of inadequacy, as if I am not doing enough.
But I am. On top of the regular job (which in it of itself is quite taxing), I do read books, study a language, and write every single day during the work week. What I need to understand is that weekends are not meant to be a continuation, but instead, it’s a stop; a moment to break up the monotony and introduce some balance. During normal times this would be easy: I can go outside and hang out with friends, but during COVID times, when more often than not I’d be twiddling my thumbs on Saturdays and Sundays, it’s difficult to not want to be “productive”.
It’s okay to be bored and do nothing; not because I’ve earned it, but because that’s just how it goes.
Light bender.