Ever ask someone what they’d do with their time if they had more of it? If they didn’t have to work? Perhaps you’ve daydreamed about it yourself. Common responses to this question include take up an instrument, write a bestselling novel, and travel to exotic places. Others say they’d work part-time in a place they considered fun like a bookstore or coffee shop, or they’d volunteer, or pursue a hobby. Still some will respond with an honest, “I have no clue!” It’s easy and even fun to contemplate what you would do with every 24-hour period if you alone could call the shots. That is, until it becomes a reality. At least, that was how it was for me.
Although I have always been time conscience, I became acutely aware of time when we relocated to London in early 2007. First, it was the time zones. On Greenwich Mean Time during winter months, London was eight hours later than the west coast and five hours ahead of the east coast. Not that the time difference was a problem, it just meant I had to adjust my phone calls to family and friends each week. Second, it was the fact I wasn’t working which meant every hour of every day was no longer scheduled. Unstructured, it felt both freeing…and scary. And third, it was that I had control over my time, which meant I had to figure out how to spend it.
From my journal: May 22, 2007, E. Twickenham, England
“Agreed to be here for a couple years…right now my days are no longer broken up into class periods, transitioned by bells. My days no longer go by in a blink of an eye, in one breath. Although some days seemed excruciatingly long as if I heard every tick of the clock…some days are like that now…the question is how can I make the most of my time here?”
My new situation was exciting, but daunting, too. Not one to waste time, I immediately did what I always do… I wrote a list! The title alone frightened me. Not because I didn’t know what to write as bullet points, but because each option lead to…questions and…more questions. Questions that I didn’t have answers to.
ALL THE THINGS I CAN POSSIBLY DO WITH MY UNSCHEDULED TIME
WHILE LIVING IN LONDON FOR THE NEXT TWO YEARS
- WRITE –Just journal entries? Short stories? Poems? Articles? A novel? Fiction or non-fiction? YA books? Biographical or personal? Historical fiction? Mysteries?
- READ –Classics? Contemporary works? Bestsellers? Authors? Genres?
- CREATE ART –Drawings? Watercolor Pictures? Acrylic Paintings? Collages? Cards? Sculptures? Pottery? (Also file under NEW ACTIVITIES.) Posters?
- TAKE CLASSES – Writing? Reading? Art? All of the above? Something else entirely? (See NEW ACTIVITIES).
- JOIN GROUPS – Book Club? Ex-Pat group in our complex? American Women’s Club of London? British Ladies Supper Club?
- EXERCISE – Yoga? Walking? Running? Hiking? Biking? Solo? In a group? Or class? (Also file under TAKE CLASSES, JOIN GROUPS)
- EXPERIENCE LONDON – Castles? Palaces? Districts? Restaurants? Shopping? Museums? Historic Sights? Famous Venues? Annual Events? Go to the Theatre? Go to Concerts?
- TRAVEL – Within England? U.K.? Europe? Asia? Africa? Farther afield? By car? By plane? Via boat? Epsom Bus Tours? Well-Known sights? Off-the-Beaten Path places? With Tour groups? With friends? Solo?
- CONSIDER WORK – Teach? Grade school? International school? Part-Time? Full-time? Volunteer? Type of work? With Adults? With Kids?
- NEW ACTIVITIES – Learn to play the Flute? Rowing? Knitting? Gardening? Tarot Card Reading? (Also file under READ – ha!), Calligraphy? (Also file under WRITE) Mah Jongg?
…
And my list went on and on. My dilemma was not that I had no idea what to do, but there were so many possibilities, so many options. Too many, in fact. With just two years to spend my time, I needed to get started right away. The only issue then became…which area to focus on first?
A Journal Journey 