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Dear Advice Girl,
Ever since I got a job, I've been collecting ideas for fantastic hobbies to pursue in my spare time - hobbies that could really give me something to talk and think about during those long and sometimes dull work hours. But the irony is, I can't seem to find time to do even the simple things that I theoretically enjoy, like working out and reading a good book, let alone can I imagine devoting my few precious out-of-work hours to cool, but tiring, activities! How can I get motivated to get active in my 'down-time'?
Dreamer in DC
Dear Dreamer,
Advice Girl suggests retiring now, and saving the work for when you’re too old to do other things. That’ll free up plenty of daylight hours. Oh, what? You don’t have dad who invented Hot Pockets to finance your Laguna Beach lifestyle? Right then, plan B.
Actually, Advice Girl’s first tip would be to get thee a Government Job. You know, the kind where you get in at 8 and leave at 3, and in between learn how to make macramé wall hangings from the internet. But let’s say you already have one of those. (Unfortunate Update: Advice Girl has just discovered that macramé is not, in fact, made of macaroni as it was in her mind, making it much less interesting as a conversation piece. So learn something else.)
Now, Advice Girl’s own riveting hobbies consist of attending important cultural events (like happy hour) and educating herself (by watching SuperNanny), so feel free to take on either of those. On the few occasions she’s managed to broaden her horizons otherwise, it’s been things she’s paid (a lot) for. Nothing like shelling out a hundred bucks a month to make you looooove going to the gym. Or knowing you’ll never see that Russian class tuition money from your employer if you don’t attend every single class.
But sometimes it helps to have a buddy. Finding a hobby partner can make you feel just guilty enough that you won’t be tempted to bail and just competitive enough that you’ll want to really do your best. And in other news, Advice Girl has just been promoted and will probably be traveling much less this spring. Belly dancing, anyone?
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Wahooo, promotions! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteI would also suggest simple prioritization. I had a roommate who would always say, "You've got to MAKE time" when people would complain about how they don't have the time to do ____. It was kind of an annoying speech, but really, he was just talking about deciding your priorities. If you have a cool hobby in mind, you may have to give up watching as much TV or a "cultural event" to make the time to do it. It sucks to sacrifice, but hey...we sacrifice 8-10 hours a day to make the money we need to do the stuff that we want.