Taking time to waste time

I think it's mandatory to step back and just do nothing on a regular (or at least semi-regular) basis. As we speak, I am sitting here eating a bowl of chips, making a list of new songs I want to put on my iPod, and reading Tiny Buddha. (But not all at the same time.) And as I sit here munching on chips and listing songs and reading (and blogging), I am using quite a bit of willpower to NOT send in a finished article/check my email in order to avoid the risk of potentially getting sucked into a new pile of work. Right now, you're probably either thinking, "What a lazy, irresponsible slug" or "Good for you!" I've admittedly thought both of those things within the past fifteen minutes.

I mentally argue with myself a lot. It's like there are two different Madisons inside my head trying to influence me at all times. One of the Madisons is nice and rational. The other one is kind of mean and peer pressure-y.

The most recent internal conversation between the two Madisons went something like this:

Madison 1: Stop being so unproductive! Send in your new article. It's finished and ready to go. You have no excuse to stuff your face with chips and read blog posts and make a list of songs. If you open your email to find new assignments, deal with it. Welcome to the real world.

Madison 2: Who cares if you take a little time to yourself? You've been working your @$$ off. Give yourself a break. You've earned one.

And I think I've decided to listen to the second Madison today, which is actually kind of rare. I have been working pretty hard this past week---harder than I normally do. I miss my "me" time. I miss remembering what it's like to not be too busy or stressed out. I miss making it a priority in my life to just "be" every once in awhile.

So that's what I'm doing. I'm not suggesting that we all drop our responsibilities or whatever. I'm just saying that it's good to honor your need for "me" time. It's good to give yourself permission to do nothing of particular importance. I promise you the world will not come crashing to an end if you're not busy.

I will check my email tomorrow.

I hope you all have a wonderful week. xx

<3 Madison