During the pandemic a lot of us are finding new ways to occupy our time when we would otherwise be out socialising. Fortunately, I am able to work from home, so there aren’t huge blocks of time that I have to fill.
That said, I have fallen into bad habits. I signed up for MOOCs and forgot to start them, I started cycling on my new ebike, and then put it away for weeks in the new bike shed that my son built for us. My intention to start a podcast drifted into inertia as I struggled to find suitable subjects for audio recordings, plus I cringed at the sound of my own voice.
There are people who organise themselves, their time, their days, weeks, months planned with fastidious care. I’m not one of them. I have sudden bursts of enthusiasm for things like podcasts, watercolour painting or writing something less self indulgent than blog posts. But I have difficulty sticking to those plans, no matter how optimistic I am at the start.
We are having our semi-detached house renovated. That requires a level of planning that is fairly basic for most people. We have made the right opening moves; appointed a firm of architects after discussing our hopes for the new improved dwelling, and arranged a site visit. That imposes some restrictions on us given social distancing precautions. Sitting in our backyard for a few hours in mid October is not a pleasant prospect. We have invested in an outdoor heater, and the sun umbrella can save us from downpours if not strong winds. But the ball is rolling.
Maybe this is the new us, drawing up plans, discussing our budget and seeing things through. I’m optimistic for the house plans, but I allow myself a great deal of leeway when it comes to any artistic endeavours.
odespinner 