Why We Do What We Do

After having spent an entire weekend updating and tweaking this site, I’ve begun to wonder why we do what we do during our spare time. I started writing my site almost four years ago. Over that time, there were months I updated a lot and months where life came first. No matter what else went on, I always thought about updating it and felt it was a good use of my time to keep it going.

There are others activities that regularly fill my free time. I read for at least five to seven hours a week, mostly on the weekend. If the book is really interesting, I might read up to twenty hours a week. I spend many hours agonizing over how I should be writing my novel and another few actually writing it. Each time, I go out to anywhere, I take time to stop and take pictures. That makes my trips take longer. I watch two to three hours of TV every night. I talk on the phone and chat over the computer with my friends.

That’s a quick list that gives an indication of the last few months of how I spend my free time. When I think about it, there are good reasons for each of my choices. Reading non fiction exercises my brain and teaches me things I didn’t know. Reading fiction exercises my creativity and helps me get lost in someone else’s world for a while and thus makes me experience different emotions.

Admittedly, agonizing doesn’t help me at all and I am trying to turn this time in to a more productive one by using it to organize my novel. Writing my novel makes me feel a huge sense of accomplishment. Even though the good feeling comes months later, I am not ready to give up on writing because it still nags me all the time.

I’ve recently noticed that taking pictures helps me remember being in places I visit. Because I have to take a moment to take a snapshot, I remember the scene even if I don’t look at my photographs for years.

TV. I know that’s a pet peeve for many people. Honestly, I work much better with the TV on. I know that for a fact because I spent all weekend coding php scripts for this site and I could function much faster and more productively when the TV was on then when if was off. I can come up with many theories as to why that is true but I will just state that it’s true and count on the fact that you’ll believe me.

I suppose with friends is the best way to spend time. Especially since most of my good friends are spread all over the world and continually busy, I am thrilled that I can get some quality time with them at all. So when I get it, I seize it and cherish it.

What’s interesting is that my ways of spending my free time are quite different than, say, Jake’s. The goal is to spend it whichever way you like; that’s why it’s called free time. The fact is time is the most precious thing we own and one that never comes back. So I think it’s important that we think of the things we choose to give our time to and those we don’t.

Why do you do what you do in your spare time?