
“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.”
Phrynette Married by Marthe Troly
After one year in lockdown, more and more people are proud of their incredibile achievements, using the time spent at home as an opportunity to do something that was always on their minds: learning a new language, writing a book, making bread.
And obviously, being proud and happy with themselves, they share the good news with their friends, family, social media followers.
This is absolutely understandable and I would probably do the same, hoping to be an inspiration for those who are way more talented than me, but too scared to take that first step towards their dream.
However, from talking to my friends and reading several comments on social media, I found that these big announcements on how productive the lockdown has been are actually having the opposite effect on some people: the general feeling is that they wasted their time.
Binge watching a TV series for hours, playing games with the children, scrolling Twitter all afternoon: most of us are just trying to find our own way to cope with being stuck inside, not trying to make something useful out of the time spent at home. Now, after a year, the general feeling is that we could have done something useful.
But why? Why do we need to spend our time trying to achieve something? Why can’t we just be ourselves and try our best to cope with a pandemic in our own way?
There is nothing wrong with watching the same film 200 times, to stay in bed listening to music, to sleep 12 hours. It is easy to judge ourselves and think what we could have done in this year, but ehy, we are humans and we all react differently.
Be proud of the beautiful human being you are, with flaws and all, but please stop thinking that people spent their time better than you and what you could have done in these 12 months. You did what felt right for you, the world is already messed up and you don’t need further pressure from yourself.
You do you.
Great words. Great post.
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thank you! ❤
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Excellent message!!!! We need to try and focus on the good that came out of this pandemic like you stated. More family time and also for me, finally getting much needed work done around our house.
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thank you! ❤
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Very true. We are human beings, not human doings.
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so true! ❤
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A lovely message. The quote is great and one I want to commit to memory.
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thank you! ❤
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“Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” One of John Lennon’s favorite quotes. This has been possibly the most trying time of our lives. For me the passing of this year taught me that I CAN co-exist with with my husband 24/7. If anything, it made us closer even after 49 years of marriage. It taught me the resilience of people and the strength we never knew we had, that we are able to do anything we set our minds to. And it renewed my belief in miracles – the birth of my 13 month old granddaughter Colette who almost never was. “Time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time.” So very true! 🌟
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beautiful words ❤ congratulations on your miracle! i didn't know it was one of John Lennon's favourite quotes, now I love it even more! ❤
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I love this! I’ve recently been feeling quite inadequate when I look at some things people have achieved over the past year. My biggest achievement has been slowing down, enjoying making more time for myself and loved ones, doing simple things like taking better care of my skin, cooking and writing which I never normally have the time to do. Maybe achieving is all relative – as you say, ‘you do you’ ☺️
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I know it is hard, but please do not let anyone to make you feel inadequate! We are all different and we all cope with things in a different way, there is no right or wrong in this situation, there is only what works for yourself! take care ❤
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The key word is enjoy, isn’t it. What fills us with joy can’t be bad
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100% agree! it doesn’t need to be a big project or a new skill, what really matters it that it feels right!
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Hear, hear! I agree that it isn’t healthy to think of what we’ve been through as wasted time. I mean really, you can learn and grow from any experience if you put your heart into it.
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100% agree! as long as it feels right, it doesn’t matter what the others around us are up to!
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I love this post and I agree- you do you! Some people may have loved being productive but not everyone can be productive in this kind of situation. For some people binge watching something and doing nothing all day feels good and that’s okay too.
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exactly! as long as it feels right for ourselves, it doesn’t matter what other people are doing and how they are living this situation!
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I kind of understand both sides. There are always those moments when we know we could have done something and I think it undermines the idea of how we spent that time even if the initial decision was one we were happy with. I have to be honest I have wasted some time but I also know what I can do now. As long as we are safe then everything else we can change.
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thank you for your comment! in my opinion, if it felt right for you in that moment, it was the right thing to do: doing something just for the sake of it, or just because “the others are learning so many new skills”, puts us under additional pressure that we certainly don’t need!
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This was a sentiment that was fast to spread early covid. But I agree with you. The pandemic is a stressful time and everyone is allowed to deal with it in their own way. If you are productive, that is great. If you hanged out, that is also great. What matters is how you personally feel about it and what your intention was in spending your time. Because it is your time so up to you!
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100% agree! we don’t have to be productive at all costs, we only have to be serene/happy!
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Wonderful words, social media has a lot to answer for. It’s great for keeping in touch but at the same time it creates a feeling of inadequacy. I’m sure lots of people would love to bingewatch Netflix!
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100% agree! I love to spend an entire afternoon with my little blanket watching tv for hours, and it is absolutely fine – unfortunately the general feeling is that we have to be productive at all costs!
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🙂
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So beautiful
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thank you! 🙂
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