The art of doing nothing!

That’s right kids, it’s time to let my hair down and relax! Time to change out of my fancy sweatpants into the causal ones. We’re going all out and I’m moving from the computer next to the couch to the dammmmn couch! I’m going from bare foot to bare foot, I’m talking comfy shirt to pajama shirt, the whole works! Okay so maybe the comfy lifestyle in a pandemic makes taking a break a little less obvious, but it’s still worth it!

I’ve been lucky to be working (mostly) from home. Yes, I research in a hospital so sometimes I put on my work pajamas (aka scrubs) to do some work, but for the most part I’m home in comfortable clothing and high stress. With the pandemic work hasn’t slowed down, but I feel like I have. Heck, I’m sure everyone can relate! Most of us probably feel the weight of all those daily deaths (upwards of 3,000 a day now and still not enough for some apparently). It’s a weight that doesn’t go away and then there’s the fear of catching COVID. I don’t think I would die from it, but I certainly don’t want to spread it and that’s where the fear comes from. The fear that I could be responsible for my neighbor who is older and who doesn’t like to wear a mask.

That’s probably part of the reason why it feels like years since I’ve had a proper day to relax. The good news is I’ve finally made it to the day that I get to do absolutely nothing. I mean I’ll do some stuff, but stuff I really want to do and things I really enjoy. Actually, scratch that today I may just do absolutely nothing and turn into a giant puddle of goo on the couch. Hey, we’re allowed! As an adult I reserve the right to turn into goo without prior notice.

That said I do enjoy some hobbies so if I feel particularly motivated to work on something for fun, there’s always options. Namely woodworking! I picked it up over the summer and while I’m not an expert I like to think that I’m okay at it. The probably comes from the fact that I took on a project that was pretty large given the amount of time I had to finish it over the summer so I didn’t finish. It’s just sitting there calling to me whenever I go into the garage, so I may take some time over the next few weeks to finish it now that things have slowed down a bit.

See the theme here though? I’m staying home and staying safe. If my actions only affected me I still wouldn’t bother going out. Who seriously wants to be sick, much less sick enough that you could die or end up with lifelong conditions?! Still my actions affect a lot of others, including the vulnerable populations we work with in the hospital so it’s my duty to keep myself safe so I can keep them safe.

While a change of scenery would be nice (and admittedly possible even in a pandemic), I think just being able to do absolutely nothing is more than I could ask for really. It’s nice to be able to shut off from time to time and even if I did some light woodworking today, it would still be far more relaxing than some of the stuff I’ve been doing. Admittedly I love my work, I could do it (and hope to do it) forever. But I’m more than my work and having a chance to not have to think about it helps my mental health and keeps me enjoying the work I do.

Now, if you’ll excuse me there’s a nice comfortable spot on the couch calling to me.