Help!! What To Do With My Time?!!?

[superfoodist]

Hello all!!

So let me first say that on Tuesday I left my job due to me not being able to work there (I had to work with products that I'm severely allergic to).

So now, I'm 5 days jobless.

I've been in a writers block lately (I'm a lyricist), and when I'm NOT in a writers block, I just keep starting new songs, without ever completing any to be released.. So I'm going to attempt to give myself a 1 month break on not writing lyrics, to refill my creative well, and get my motivation going again.

Another thing I'm *trying* to subtract from my life is computer use. I noticed that personally, computer use affects my social life, sleep patterns, as well as other things. Today was going to be the first day of no computer usage, but - as you can see - I succumbed to the urges to get on and go browsing due to my boredom.

I've been reading, but It's hard for me to focus and read ALL day long while still comprehending the material, although I would really like to build this skill to be able to do so.

I AM looking for a job to keep me temporarily entertained, and to make some cash as well... I'm still young and at home, and not paying bills yet, so It's not super critical that I'm getting a paycheck every week.


With all of that said, here is a summary :

I'm trying to NOT write lyrics for a while
I'm trying to NOT use computer
I AM reading, but not ALL day
I currently don't have a job

What can I start doing with my time?!! I was trying to learn guitar last week for a while, but I lost interest. What's something that I can do at my house that will help better myself, and remain entertaining/interesting at the same time?

I'll be checking this thread often tonight (due to my boredom), so hopefully some of you can help me out!

[ZephyrusX]

This might come across as flippant, but it is honestly not intended to be so. Enjoy your time.

May be it is just the way you wrote your post, but you sound almost panic stricken about what you ought to be doing with your time. I've felt that way before too. The more intensely you try to grip onto life, the quicker it will slip away. Just make the best decisions you are able to make at the given time, take things slowly and enjoy whatever time you may have. I suppose others may refer to this as gratitude and there are plenty of threads on this forum dealing with the issue.

[superfoodist]

But the thing is, enjoying my time might not necessarily be a good thing ><

I was a long time World of Warcraft player (5+ years), severely addicted. I've been off of it for about a year now, and in my boredness today I've been looking at videos of Guild Wars 2 (a new game that's coming out). I know I shouldn't even be entertaining my mind with the thought of video games, because I can't manage my time on them, and they're so destructive to my social life/personality.. Although I 100% enjoy my time on them.

See what I'm saying? :P

lol, I need to find productive, entertaining stuff to do - rather than destructive, entertaining stuff - and I can't think of anything ><

Learning Kung-Fu and practicing it at home would be cool, but the only teacher I would go to is a Grand Master and charges 100$ an hour, which is something I can't afford, so at this stage in my life - thats not an option :/

[ZephyrusX]

Have you read this thread? I think games can be productive

Is it unheard of for martial arts instructors to negotiate prices for students that can't cover the tuition? It wouldn't hurt to ask.

Article: 7 reasons why you probably shouldn't play computer games

[superfoodist]

Yeah I read that thread right before looking up the videos lol :/ my willpower is garbage when it comes to gaming.


I know I seem really negative about all this - but this kung fu teacher is a Grand Master, known as "Grand Master Choi". Danny Inosanto (a martial artists that worked with, and was really close to Bruce Lee) said that Master Choi is one of the top 5 martial artists in the world.

And even if he was up to negotiation, he has someone else working his website, so I couldn't get direct contact with him even if I wanted to (he doesn't have a public kung fu school, he only teaches 1 on 1 in private now) :/

[ZephyrusX]

So, you'll need to make lots and lots of money.

Is there a lower limit of hours that you have to agree to pay before a Grand Master will take you on? You could easily get a part time job that may give you between 400 to 600 every two weeks (well, in Canada you can). Could your parents chip in at all? I suppose this is pointless though if you are required to schedule a bare minimum of hours per week (lets say 20).

If it is just totally out of the question, it is something you can do later in your life.

What else are you interested in? Would you be interested in game design?

[superfoodist]

Haha well hopefully I get a full time job at one of the various places I applied at (or that I'm going to apply to) this week, so I will have money, so maybe I can take an hour or so a week. (And no, there's no minimum amount of hours that you need to take).

He's 72 now, and literally one of a kind (the only grand master in the world of his style), so doing it later in life would be ehhhh.

As far as what I'm interesting it, it would be music. I'm a lyricist working on an album, but like I said I'm in a writers block, so I'm going to attempt to take a month off of writing to heal my creative well.

I'm kind of looking for something I can do around my house, maybe drawing or something, that would end up benefiting me in various ways.

Should I maybe just force myself to read ALL day to build my reading skills by making my mind adapt to having to read vast amounts of material?

(Also, thanks for trying to help me )

[ZephyrusX]

I wouldn't force my self to read. Having said that, I do think reading widely between different topics and genres can broaden your insight and appreciation for the world. On the hand, you may find it more beneficial to read on topics that are directly related to your values and goals. I guess it really depends upon what you prefer. I like the former style of reading better.

I can read around 50 pages a day, which results in about a book a week. I'm a very slow reader, so that can take me between an hour or two hours a day. I don't think I'd read any more than that as part of comprehension is processing what you read, which involves time. Sometimes an idea presented in a book doesn't quite 'click' until I've had time to mull over it, and if I try to tackle too many ideas at once, I'm just going to forget it all. There is no point in reading if you are not comprehending the material.

I wouldn't worry so much about memorization as recall and comprehension is more important. You might think that you have forgotten what you read last week, but if presented with a 'trigger' or 'cue', you will recall the material, and again, what is important is whether you comprehend the material.

I've found reading is good for focus training, actually. For that reason, I volunteered for the 50 books in a year challenge (i'll post link after) as I've found my self being a bit scatter minded lately. I'm trying to get to the point where I can read the full two hours without getting distracted.

[ZephyrusX]

There you go! 50 books in one year. Challenging enough for someone who may not be in the habit of reading, but not too challenging!

50 books in one year

[superfoodist]

I saw that thread a while back and I'm thinking about doing it.


Hmm.. I think instead of limiting myself to one or two "self improvement" activities throughout the day, I'll just do a bunch of them.

For example, in one day, whenever I get bored of one activity, I'll move to the next one.. The things I'd be doing is :

1.) Reading
2.) Drawing
3.) Guitar Practice
4.) Exercise
5.) Explore the outdoor world
6.) Write lyrics (once the 1 month no-lyric-writing thing is over)
7.) Play the drums a bit
8.) Possibly take an hour or two of Kung Fu every 1-3 weeks, and practice what I learned for an hour a day every day
9.) Spend about a half hour every day focusing/meditating on a candle flame, without thinking about anything else, to increase my overall focus.
10.) Maybe eventually taking some piano classes, to help peak my mind in different ways.


How does that list sound? I think I've been limiting myself way too much. My usual habit would be to read for an hour or two, get really bored, not find anything to do, then turn to the computer so I can browse the internet and waste my time.

With that new list, I'd constantly be doing different things to entertain myself, and keep my mind constantly improving.

[ZephyrusX]

That sounds like a good idea. Just don't force your self to do something you honestly don't want to do (ie, read all day) and enjoy your self.

Originally Posted by superfoodist

I saw that thread a while back and I'm thinking about doing it.


Hmm.. I think instead of limiting myself to one or two "self improvement" activities throughout the day, I'll just do a bunch of them.

For example, in one day, whenever I get bored of one activity, I'll move to the next one.. The things I'd be doing is :

1.) Reading
2.) Drawing
3.) Guitar Practice
4.) Exercise
5.) Explore the outdoor world
6.) Write lyrics (once the 1 month no-lyric-writing thing is over)
7.) Play the drums a bit
8.) Possibly take an hour or two of Kung Fu every 1-3 weeks, and practice what I learned for an hour a day every day
9.) Spend about a half hour every day focusing/meditating on a candle flame, without thinking about anything else, to increase my overall focus.
10.) Maybe eventually taking some piano classes, to help peak my mind in different ways.


How does that list sound? I think I've been limiting myself way too much. My usual habit would be to read for an hour or two, get really bored, not find anything to do, then turn to the computer so I can browse the internet and waste my time.

With that new list, I'd constantly be doing different things to entertain myself, and keep my mind constantly improving.

[superfoodist]

Sounds great. Thanks for your time

[Brutha]

Learning Kung-Fu and practicing it at home would be cool, but the only teacher I would go to is a Grand Master and charges 100$ an hour, which is something I can't afford, so at this stage in my life - thats not an option :/

To me that sounds like an excuse.
What's wrong with going to another teacher if this teacher is to expensive?

1.) Reading
2.) Drawing
3.) Guitar Practice
4.) Exercise
5.) Explore the outdoor world
6.) Write lyrics (once the 1 month no-lyric-writing thing is over)
7.) Play the drums a bit
8.) Possibly take an hour or two of Kung Fu every 1-3 weeks, and practice what I learned for an hour a day every day
9.) Spend about a half hour every day focusing/meditating on a candle flame, without thinking about anything else, to increase my overall focus.
10.) Maybe eventually taking some piano classes, to help peak my mind in different ways.

That list lacks social activities.

[superfoodist]

Originally Posted by Brutha

To me that sounds like an excuse.
What's wrong with going to another teacher if this teacher is to expensive?
That list lacks social activities.

An excuse? If I go to a lesser, americanized, mainstream "kung fu" teacher of the same style, he'll most likely teach me wrong, which would be even worse than not going at all, because when I could afford the Grand Masters teaching, I would first have to unlearn EVERYTHING I learned, rather than start with a clean slate.

My job would be my social activity for now, until my album is out - then I'll begin doing shows and I'll have plenty of social interaction. I just got out of a party phase about a year ago, so now is personal development time in my life, rather than focusing on relationships.

[Philemon]

I had this intuitive feeling after reading the thread:

Start a business?
Or you could at least design one.

Another idea, what's wrong with doing absolutely nothing for part of your day now and then. Personally, I sometimes get into manic mode and find it effective to just stop. Literally, just sit there and do nothing for an hour. It actually takes focus, oddly enough.

[superfoodist]

Well any time I'd use for starting a business, I dedicate towards my music business :P

I basically consider this album that I'm making as my business, if that makes sense?

[Philemon]

Ah yes, and I had a similar thought to Brutha--why no social interaction? I'm not saying go back to party mode, but maybe you could involve yourself in a couple of productive social activities, or pseudo-social activities, like yoga, or going to a coffee house and reading the paper, or perhaps playing a team sport...

[Philemon]

Originally Posted by superfoodist

Well any time I'd use for starting a business, I dedicate towards my music business :P

I basically consider this album that I'm making as my business, if that makes sense?

Sure does make sense. I'm a songwriter, too. Keep at it.

[Philemon]

Curious: Did you used to have the avatar with the big pitcher of green juice?

[superfoodist]

Haha nope that wasn't me, but I do believe that I know who you're talking about. I've seen a green pitcher avatar just recently as well.

[taylor]

Depends what you want.

Pretend you're making a video game character.

Which kind of character do you want to play?

Is your Sims character going to spend their time in the game on gaining skills in random stuff, working and saving, working and buying, reading books, writing, having fun with friends, sleeping around, meditating for relaxation, meditating for enlightenment, exercising, doing extreme sports, getting into bar fights,.

There are really only maybe a hundred reasonable options to choose from and only a handful that you actually personally care about.

List them all out and just pick some that appeal to you or align with your long term goals.

[Bonadea]

I think I hit the ground running the day I was born, then recently there came a time when I was no longer needed and now have all this time on my hands. It has been SOOOO weird. I feel shell shocked and have no direction really (other than finding a new job/switching fields).

I feel for you.

[Dulma]

You have two options:

1. Make a list of things you'd like to learn/do/have/be and go after them.

2. Inquire as to why you feel pressure/panicked in this situation and figure out how to feel better about not knowing what to do.

If I were you, I'd meditate. I can't really think of a more precious way to spend my time.