On Mother’s Day, I wanted a quiet, drama free day – the kind of day that lends itself to reading. Happily, that’s what I got. I worked my way through a few of the magazines in my ever-expanding pile, and I got to spend some time doing other sorts of reading as well.
As it turned out, this Mother's Day activity was a good warm-up for the summer vacation that lay ahead. Now, with my online class behind me, I'm digging into my writing and, after a really good week of writing last week, I decided to take Sunday off. Instead of writing, I puttered, started a new jigsaw puzzle, and read -- books and magazines instead of one or the other. It was relaxing and rejuvenating.
You know. Kinda how vacation is supposed to be.
About midway through the day, I decided that I was going to make taking Sundays off from writing a new habit. Although this decision flies in the face of a popular writing rule (writers must write every day), it gave me the opportunity to commit to another popular concept.
Writers must also be readers.
This writer is on year two of a "finish what you started" reading plan, endeavoring not just to read, but to finish two books a month. I know that doesn't sound like much but, when it comes to reading, I have commitment issues. I start an enormous number of books on multiple platforms (traditional, e-book, audiobook), along with the aforementioned magazines. Although I've long since given up (intentionally) on finishing every book I start, opting to finish only the ones in which I find personal value, not finishing anything was problematic.
Enter my Sunday plan. Not only does it give me a chance to dedicate time to reading (rather than fitting it in between the cracks of a daily schedule), it also gives my writer mind a day to be creative, rather than productive (another one of my recent goals).
Today, I came across an article that further convinced me that Sundays off from writing will be a good plan. Entitled "When Passion Leads to Burnout," it takes issue with the idea that if you do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life. Instead, it focuses on the idea that we can, indeed, have too much of a good thing, and that blurring the work/play line can lead to the kind of stress that comes from not knowing where to draw the line.
Life is full of rules and guidelines. Some we need to follow (stopping at stop signs and red lights, for example). Others, we need to adapt to suit our goals and lifestyle. While my personal rule book is a work in progress, I've learned that putting well-being and creativity in the early chapters is essential. Without those two attributes, productivity is just busy work, and work without purpose is just, well work.
And you know what they say about all work and no play.
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