An Entire Day Without Being Useful to Anyone
I have a modest proposal for Saturday.
An entire day without being useful to anyone.
No research packet. No résumé adjustment. No “quick question” that requires reading forty-seven pages and locating a subsection somebody insists does not exist.
Just a day to enjoy myself.
I realize this is a radical scheduling decision. The laundry has already expressed concerns.
I Have Accidentally Made Myself Available
When you become known as someone who can figure things out, people remember.
You know how to research that. You can probably fix this. You write well. Could you take a look?
Often, I am happy to help. I like solving problems and doing meaningful work.
But somewhere along the way, “I can help” can turn into a standing appointment nobody put on the calendar.
Even my own brain participates.
A quiet afternoon arrives, and immediately it asks whether we should use this opportunity to accomplish something.
We could also sit down, brain.
There is a chair right there.
A Hobby Can Simply Be Fun
I would like to enjoy an activity without conducting a feasibility study on whether it could become a side business.
Make something? Perhaps I could sell it.
Enjoy writing? Perhaps I should build a content strategy.
Go somewhere interesting? Better document it.
Or perhaps I could have a pleasant experience and come home with absolutely no deliverables.
What a concept.
There is room in my life for something I do badly, slowly, or purely because it makes me happy. No performance review required.
Wandering Is a Perfectly Respectable Plan
A Saturday outing does not need six stops and an optimized route.
Sometimes, I want to browse a thrift store, look at things I do not need, and wonder whether an old curtain could have a promising second career as Renaissance clothing.
Some people see drapes.
Some of us see potential and a reason to get out the sewing machine.
I might take a walk. Read something unrelated to legislation. Enjoy coffee/tea/diet Mountain Dew without using the other hand to answer messages.
The important part is choosing something because I want to do it.
The World Can Manage for an Afternoon
I care about my family, my community, and the issues I work on. That care remains intact when I take some time for myself.
A Saturday off does not erase the work I have done.
It gives me a chance to enjoy the life happening around it.
I want more moments where I notice the weather, appreciate something beautiful, or laugh at something ridiculous without immediately asking what needs to happen next.
Those moments deserve a place on the calendar, too.
Today’s Ambitious Agenda
Drink the Tea while it is hot.
Do something enjoyable.
Allow a minor household task to experience a brief delay.
I may accomplish something along the way. These things happen. But I would like to leave room for an afternoon that has no measurable output beyond, “That was nice.”
If you also spend a lot of time being the dependable one, I hope you find a little space for that this weekend.
We can return to being useful.
Today, I would like to be pleasantly occupied.
The laundry may submit its objections in writing.
