“What activities do you lose yourself in?”

I admit it, I’m a serial hobbyist, particularly in the journal-y, bookish, paper craft kinda way. Have you heard of journal ecosystems? Yeah. That’s me. I have journals about my journals! Okay, maybe it’s not that bad. But I’m getting there. There’s my main journal, the craft-y/junk journal, the reading journal, the arts-y journal… the inspiration journal, the prayer journal, the sticker journal… the money journal… the writing journal, the night journal… I mean, it is truly something to behold. Some of my journals last for years (my reading journal is pretty big), and some of them not nearly as long (the writing journal goes pretty quick!). But I love spending time with all of them!

Where I can get truly lost is in my hobbies… reading, writing, making things, puttering around and gardening, music (listening and playing it)… I can get lost hanging out with my family and friends… going for walks… spending time in nature… taking photos of clouds… you get the picture. I can get lost in the mundane… in baking or cleaning… looking at recipes. I love the opportunity for getting lost.

The thing is, in order to get truly “lost” in something, I need to have time carved out. Time to do not much of anything. Time to relax… and let myself get kinda bored. But how can I find time to do that?

Like everyone else, I’m busy. I work full time, have family I want to spend time with, and I’m in school again (graduating in December!) And while I love planning activities and doing stuff, this year I decided to lay low and just slow down a lil bit. I’m saying no more often. Traveling less, even though I love to travel. Saying no, even when I want to say yes but there’s a more important goal taking precedence. Being more focused.

Recently I read Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. This book has four main parts: Part I is called Essence. I this section, Mr. McKeown talks about choice, and how powerful it is. He discusses the concept of discernment, and how nearly everything in our lives is unimportant. And then, there is the trade-off. I think of this section as the what do you really, really want section. Next is Part II, all about exploration. In Explore we learn about looking at the different options available to us so that we can choose the best one. To explore, we need some space- time to think, time to sleep and rejuvenate ourselves. We need time to actually play. Do you remember what that is??? Playing? Being playful? McKeown mentions a researcher who found that grizzly bears that played the most survived longer than those who didn’t play quite as much. Interesting, huh? This is after 15 years of research. Play broadens our minds. We think of new things. And in case the grizzly bear story doesn’t have you hooked, he discusses scientists who had breakthroughs when they were playing, too.

Section III is called Eliminate. This is where we get to practice saying “no.” And by the way, did you know that “No.” is a complete sentence? Eliminate is the chapter about boundaries. Setting them and actually enforcing them. I tend to think of boundaries as less of a brick wall, cemented into place and more like one of those moveable fences. It’s okay to explore our boundaries, especially if we’re not particularly good with them. It can be scary to say no in a place where we are used to saying yes. But it is important on the journey of essentialism.

In part IV we learn about execution. Execute is the chapter where McKeown discusses making those very important things that we’ve discerned easy to put into action. I love this concept! The concept of making the essential easy. Like, so easy you don’t even have to hardly think about it. Some highlights from this section include being very prepared, removing obstacles from our path, and recognizing our small wins. He talks about routines and focus.

So far, we’re 2 1/2 months into the year and it has been going pretty well. I have had the time to rest more often. I reached one of my money goals this past week and paid off my student loan from nursing school. This felt great! I’m reading more. Spending time with my kids and boyfriend more.

There are things that I don’t do. Things I had to scale back on to carve out some more time. This was where discernment came into play. Here’s some of what I don’t do:

I don’t go grocery shopping. This has been a big time-saver for me. I do it online and have it delivered. It costs a little bit more, but has given me a good chunk of my weekend back which I really needed. I order my stuff Friday night, and it comes in the morning. The end!

I don’t watch much TV. I do listen to YouTube videos sometimes while I’m doing other things. Some of my favorite YouTubers lately are Rose Han and Catching Up to FI. I listen to books on YouTube sometimes (motivational/financial types of things). I listen to audiobooks using Libby and Libro.fm. I watch movies now and then, lately about one per week on the weekends, at home. Last weekend I watched KPop Demon Hunters lol. I’ve also seen Troll 2, Weapons, and Caught Stealing over the past couple months. Let me just say Weapons was very creepy! One of my favorite movies that I re-watched is Summit of the Gods. It’s animated, on Netflix, and absolutely gorgeous.

I don’t go shopping. This one had to go. I love shopping. I just like looking at stuff. I could go to an antique mall and spend hours looking at old magazines and vintage toys. But I am also happy going to TJ Maxx and looking at perfumes that I can’t really wear. I was in a habit of going to TJ Maxx and coming out with a bag of snacks and some skin products. At 50 bucks a pop (per trip) I had to stop it.

I don’t sign up for as much at work. This one has been tough. I like doing things. I like being busy, but it was becoming a distraction. So I’m being a little more picky. It’s not that I’m not an engaged employee. But there is only so much I can do, and what I do do, I want to do well. So there have been some little things that I’ve said no to. Like bringing in valentines to exchange. Sorry, can’t do it. I’ve also had to skip out on some work dinners. It’s just too much.

I don’t cook fancy recipes for weeknight dinners. I love to eat. But I keep it super simple, to the point I don’t have to think too hard. I keep things on hand that go together and make sure I cover my bases for a protein and a vegetable. We’ll make a little rice or pasta. That’s it.

I don’t wear fancy clothes. This is sort of dictated by my job. I wear scrubs. I have a couple pairs of jeans I really like, and flannel shirts/t-shirts. I have yoga pants for working out. A couple dresses. That’s about it for what I usually wear. It’s super simple. Lately, I’ve been popping all my laundry in on Friday night and finishing it up Saturday morning while I’m working on homework. Then I put it all away and it’s done.

I don’t buy fancy coffees. This was another one that had to go. It’s just too expensive. And even if I’m just buying coffee at Sheetz a few times a week, that’s nearly forty dollars down the drain. Is it worth it? For me? Right now? Nope. I also had to quit going to Panera. Twenty bucks every weekend is nearly $100 a month that I could use for something else. I had to quit it. I’m not saying I’ll never go there again. It’s just that I had to get a little more intentional.

This has given me more time for my yesses:

I occasionally bake fancy things. This is for fun, and is relaxing to me. Plus it (usually!) tastes good. So far this year, I’ve made candied orange peel for a homemade orange tart, homemade crackers, pound cakes, and cookies. I’ve baked bread and made homemade marshmallows. I’ve made sticky buns from scratch numerous times, experimenting a bit with my recipe. I give extra away to my kids or stick it in the freezer. It’s been a lot of fun! And delicious. 😛

I’m reading and writing more. So far, I’ve read or listened to at least thirteen books this year, and have read or listened to parts of many others. This includes some chonkers like Blackwater by Michael McDowell. I took part in a five week memoir writing class that met on zoom and was so much fun I can’t wait to take another one. I’m posting more on here, and working on stories and papers for school.

I’m taking Sundays as a rest day. I don’t do much on Sundays, besides visit my kids, bake something if I want, and just rest. I’ll spend time with my boyfriend, go for walks and listen to music. I’ll read or write and work on my journal. That’s about it.

I’m paying down debt and saving more. This I’ve tried to make as automatic as possible. My goal is to be debt-free by the end of the year, but it could be even sooner than that!

I’m sleeping more and keeping to a regular sleep schedule. This one is important for me. I have to be as regular as possible or I am just exhausted all the time which is not fun. If I stay up too late it just messes with me! Having said that, we are going to a concert later so I might be up late, but in general, well… you get the idea.

Where do you get lost? Where do you find yourself having the most fun these days?