Free Time

[greybeard]

As I said, it's up to you alone to understand it.

 

[kenny thomas]

I try not to actually work much over 100 hours a week. That leaves a little time for getting in trouble.

 

[fasttommy]

I don't have any free time, he says.
I have thousands of posts on an internet forum, he says.

:hide:

 

[greybeard]

I try not to actually work much over 100 hours a week. That leaves a little time for getting in trouble.

I dunno Kenny, I can get into lots of trouble in 68 hrs.

 

[bball]

Like I asked before, for those of you who don't want free time or ever have free time, how do you define free time? Are you never able to just relax a few hours before bed? Do you never get to watch a ballgame? Do you never get to grill out in the back yard? Do you always feel stressed and pressed for time?

It's a combination of things. Every man sets his priorities either consciously or subconsciously. For some, attempting to complete a never ending list of tasks helps to form/define their identity, adds self worth, self actualization, provides meaning and purpose. For others, focusing on the important relationships in their lives completes and fulfills those. It simply boils down to what a man decides are his priorities. I personally strive for balance in both areas and it presents a challenge. I personally believe relationships are the single most important thing in this life. While I find them the most rewarding and fulfilling, I often fall prey to the temptation of working the day away deep into the late evening or stealing away in my mind, making a mental list of all the things I think I should or need to be doing. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. The fenceline weeds are going to regrow back, etc etc. This takes away from time spent with my wife, children or friends. It's all about striking a balance between the physical task completion and enjoying the benefits of rewarding relationships. How does one define success? Is it money, a physical legacy one has built? Or the combination of several facets of a life well lived.
Purely my opinion.

 

[M-5]

Leaders get the job done.

Followers watch them do it .

It's pretty simple where folks like up.

 

[jltrent]

I have a lot more time than I use to have. I try to work smarter, multitask more also.

 

[True Grit Farms]

I've always put family first and as I'm aging even more so. We all relax and take it easy in our own ways. My problem is I don't have to look very far to see things that need doing.

 

[TCRanch]

If you have to force free time, is it really free or simply bought/rented/borrowed at the expense of whatever you would otherwise be engaged in?

Good point. Very little in life is free. But I'm selective about what I choose to be otherwise engaged in. Can it wait until tomorrow? Will it negatively effect me or someone/something else if it's not addressed in a timely manner?

A friend once referred to me as a bundle of energy and I took that as one of the nicest complements I have received. However, I have recently recognized I'm not doing myself or my husband any favors trying to get everything done all the time, ending up exhausted at the end of the day. Plus, we're supposed to be "retired" and retirement is supposed to be fun, right?

 

[TexasBred]

I never have any real schedule except on Thursdays when I volunteer at the VA Hospital. Otherwise I do a lot of small things but seldom anything someone would consider hard work. I mow, keep the place clean, check the cows everyday, sometimes just park the mule in woods and sit and day dream a bit....I make it to town about once a week strictly to visit a few folks, drink a few beers and BS a couple of hours. We eat out several times during the week which is simply a chance to not have the wife cook and enjoy good food as well. I do quite a lot of reading, most non fiction and have several books going at one time. Otherwise I nap a lot as well. ;-)

 

[M-5]

I never have any real schedule except on Thursdays when I volunteer at the VA Hospital. Otherwise I do a lot of small things but seldom anything someone would consider hard work. I mow, keep the place clean, check the cows everyday, sometimes just park the mule in woods and sit and day dream a bit....I make it to town about once a week strictly to visit a few folks, drink a few beers and BS a couple of hours. We eat out several times during the week which is simply a chance to not have the wife cook and enjoy good food as well. I do quite a lot of reading, most non fiction and have several books going at one time. Otherwise I nap a lot as well. ;-)

Sounds like you work hard at making sure you can work at a comfortable place.

 

[herofan]

It appears some people understand what I'm talking about. It sounds like TexasBred has balance. TCRanch wrote about being exhausted. I always considered working with my students to be my main focus as far as a job. After all, I'm working with human beings, and that is serious business. If I drag in tired every morning because I have so many other irons in the fire when not at school, or if my mind is wandering about all my other tasks I need to be doing, how is that giving justice to the kids? I also couldn't be more proud of my own kids. As I wrote in another thread, they haven't caused the first bit of trouble or done anything to negatively impact their lives. I can't help but think it's because I actually spent some quality time with them over the years and wasn't always caught up in a fog of busyness.

bball wrote about balance. That's really what I'm describing. It seems like regardless of the topic anymore, few people understand balance or middle ground. One would think I wrote that I was jobless, slept all day, got a government check, had starving kids, and ate in the soup line every day, but that is far from what I wrote; I just don't go around like my pants are on fire all the time and like the world may end if I'm not busy all the time.

The world certainly needs leaders, inventors, and curious minds to solve problems, but I realize most people aren't that. If most people I see who are so "busy" all the time achieved half as much as they think they do, they would truly be the next Thomas Edison, but they are usually far from it. In college, I had a few professors over the years give what we called "busy work." It's not something particularly meaningful, but just something to fill a block of time so they can say the students are busy. That's what I see with a lot of busy people. If they were on the brink of a new invention or a cure for a disease, I could understand, but half the stuff they are doing won't amount to a hill of beans in the long run, but at least they are busy. I'll just spend my allotted time for "busy work" building relationships and being with my family.

 

[M-5]

Hero this isn't the first thread you mention how you "avoid" work. It's good your a teacher and have to be told what to do. It's apparent your not self motivated.

 

[herofan]

Hero this isn't the first thread you mention how you "avoid" work. It's good your a teacher and have to be told what to do. It's apparent your not self motivated.

I'm wondering if words show up differently on other people's screen. Interpretation
Is amazing. I didn't say a thing about avoiding work or motivation.

So, let me get this straight: If a person doesn't work every moment they are awake and likes to have some time for family and recreation, you don't view that as balanced, you view it as unmotivated and avoiding work? Is that correct?

 

[Bright Raven]

Hero this isn't the first thread you mention how you "avoid" work. It's good your a teacher and have to be told what to do. It's apparent your not self motivated.

I'm wondering if words show up differently on other people's screen. Interpretation
Is amazing. I didn't say a thing about avoiding work or motivation.

So, let me get this straight: If a person doesn't work every moment they are awake and likes to have some time for family and recreation, you don't view that as balanced, you view it as unmotivated and avoiding work? Is that correct?

I agree. I read this thread and reread your posts twice. Maybe you said it in other threads. IDK!!!

 

[herofan]

Hero this isn't the first thread you mention how you "avoid" work. It's good your a teacher and have to be told what to do. It's apparent your not self motivated.

I'm wondering if words show up differently on other people's screen. Interpretation
Is amazing. I didn't say a thing about avoiding work or motivation.

So, let me get this straight: If a person doesn't work every moment they are awake and likes to have some time for family and recreation, you don't view that as balanced, you view it as unmotivated and avoiding work? Is that correct?

I agree. I read this thread and reread your posts twice. Maybe you said it in other threads. IDK!!!

Thanks Bright Raven for reading the posts and giving a second opinion. I don't recall it in other threads either.

It was written in another post that I probably wouldn't understand the "busy" side of the discussion if an entire page was written explaining it. I feel the same about the other side. I notice the busy advocates never address any specific points I make such as wanting to spend time with my parents, not wanting to go to school exhausted and give my students less than they deserve, or just having overall balance in life. I could write 20 pages explaining, but then it would just be skipped over and interpreted as, "he avoids work." I guess writing and reading comprehension wasn't everyone's strong subject in school.

 

[Farm Fence Solutions]

I'm seeing first hand, the local 60-65 year old crowd that has lived the same life as me, and they all say the same thing. It ain't worth it. 10 years ago, they were all gung ho, and thought it was great that I was too. My favorite old neighbor has all but ordered me to figure out a better way, and to make sure it comes with plenty of time with my family. It is something that he is, in his own way, demanding from his own son. 7 long days a week of hard labor is no way to live your entire life. Doesn't hurt a person to do it for a while, and I think hard work is important, but it ain't everything. Lunch is over. I gotta get back to work.

 

[alisonb]

Guess I'm kinda doing it now....

...and watching and waiting for rain

I don't have any free time, he says.
I have thousands of posts on an internet forum, he says. :hide:

:lol: :lol:

Herofan - As long as you are happy with your life... ;-)

Spose one has to be careful of what you wish, you could fall off a ladder and end up having more than enough 'free time' :shock:

Got up early as usual this morning, did my chores and then started with my lists. There are not a lot of things that I can cut out but I can prioritize. It dawned on me that for the last couple of years I have been doing things almost 'automatically', just going through the motions.

It started in 2016 when my mom(she stays with me) had a triple bypass and a valve replacement. She then developed cellulitis in her leg where surgeon had removed a vein, that took about 6 months dressing and tending. In 2017 she had a hip replacement. A couple of weeks ago she has a mastectomy. Think I lost the plot somewhere tending, driving her to appointments, cooking and still trying to make a living(never married, never had children) but I managed to keep things together.

Around about the same time, 2016, joined a community project, and became too involved. Have now cut that down to a minimum.

So taking a step back, looking at my life with perspective and deciding to reclaim my time has been a worthwhile exercise. One of my hobbies, painting, is first on the list. There is a half painted(8 months now) painting waiting for me... ;-)

It will not be easy as there are always going to be 'certain' demands on a person but just realizing that one is on the right tack again is almost invigorating. Hope that anyone in a similar boat to me takes some time out too.

Food for thought -

The fisherman & Businessman

There was once a businessman who was sitting by the beach in a small Brazilian village.
As he sat, he saw a Brazilian fisherman rowing a small boat towards the shore having caught quite few big fish.
The businessman was impressed and asked the fisherman, "How long does it take you to catch so many fish?"
The fisherman replied, "Oh, just a short while."
"Then why don't you stay longer at sea and catch even more?" The businessman was astonished.
"This is enough to feed my whole family," the fisherman said.
The businessman then asked, "So, what do you do for the rest of the day?"
The fisherman replied, "Well, I usually wake up early in the morning, go out to sea and catch a few fish, then go back and play with my kids. In the afternoon, I take a nap with my wife, and evening comes, I join my buddies in the village for a drink — we play guitar, sing and dance throughout the night."

The businessman offered a suggestion to the fisherman.
"I am a PhD in business management. I could help you to become a more successful person. From now on, you should spend more time at sea and try to catch as many fish as possible. When you have saved enough money, you could buy a bigger boat and catch even more fish. Soon you will be able to afford to buy more boats, set up your own company, your own production plant for canned food and distribution network. By then, you will have moved out of this village and to Sao Paulo, where you can set up HQ to manage your other branches."

The fisherman continues, "And after that?"
The businessman laughs heartily, "After that, you can live like a king in your own house, and when the time is right, you can go public and float your shares in the Stock Exchange, and you will be rich."
The fisherman asks, "And after that?"
The businessman says, "After that, you can finally retire, you can move to a house by the fishing village, wake up early in the morning, catch a few fish, then return home to play with kids, have a nice afternoon nap with your wife, and when evening comes, you can join your buddies for a drink, play the guitar, sing and dance throughout the night!"
The fisherman was puzzled, "Isn't that what I am doing now?"


[youtube]https://youtu.be/KUwjNBjqR-c[/youtube]

 

[Bright Raven]

I'm wondering if words show up differently on other people's screen. Interpretation
Is amazing. I didn't say a thing about avoiding work or motivation.

So, let me get this straight: If a person doesn't work every moment they are awake and likes to have some time for family and recreation, you don't view that as balanced, you view it as unmotivated and avoiding work? Is that correct?

I agree. I read this thread and reread your posts twice. Maybe you said it in other threads. IDK!!!

Thanks Bright Raven for reading the posts and giving a second opinion. I don't recall it in other threads either.

It was written in another post that I probably wouldn't understand the "busy" side of the discussion if an entire page was written explaining it. I feel the same about the other side. I notice the busy advocates never address any specific points I make such as wanting to spend time with my parents, not wanting to go to school exhausted and give my students less than they deserve, or just having overall balance in life. I could write 20 pages explaining, but then it would just be skipped over and interpreted as, "he avoids work." I guess writing and reading comprehension wasn't everyone's strong subject in school.

Maybe he is just having a Bad "Hay" Day.

 

[ez14.]

No such thing as FREE time. You may not be busy all the time but it sure as heck ain't FREE