The problem with having so many interests - jigsaw puzzles, bird watching, amateur photography, history, reading, writing, antiquing, creating mixed media projects, watching and discussing classic movies, traveling - is that I want to do ALL THE THINGS and I want to be GOOD at all the things, but I only have so much brain capacity and time. This has become especially challenging with MECFS since cognitive difficulties are one of the bugaboos I deal with.
I choose to focus the bulk of my attention on my writing. I like to attend writing conferences (online), read blog posts and craft books, network with other writers on Twitter and Instagram, and of course, write. I would love to listen to more writing podcasts, but I don't feel like I have the attention span or the time to do that. Though now that I think of it, working on a jigsaw puzzle while listening to a writing podcast might be just the ticket!
Birding is my latest obsession. I bought a field guide to birds in the Midwest, have downloaded an app which detects birds by their calls, and am always watching my birdfeeders in the backyard for new species. I'm more of a backyard birder since my illness keeps me at home so much, so I usually sit in the backyard every night and take photos. Here's a few from tonight. I love these woodpeckers!
I'm definitely an amateur with my photography. I usually leave my settings on auto and don't mess with shutter speed or ISO or aperture. I really should take a beginning photography class - it might help me a lot! But then again, that takes time, and I don't need to be a professional by any stretch.
With all of these different interests swirling around in my brain, it becomes harder and harder to focus on just one thing. I've implemented a new writing routine, though, that has helped. I light a candle at the beginning of the writing session, and when I've finished, I blow it out. This tells my brain that it's time to get to work, to focus.
Still, I feel like time is running out. Is it because I just turned 48 last week? Perhaps. But there are so many books I want to read and write, so many places I want to travel to (at least I'm going to Scotland in October!), so many jigsaw puzzles to put together, podcasts to listen to, photos to take! I need several lifetimes to accomplish all that I want to do. Honestly, being immortal wouldn't be such a bad gig. I'd have lots to do!
Honestly, though, I'm very fortunate to have so many hobbies. It makes my life well-rounded, fun, rich, and exciting. If only my health would cooperate, I'd be able to do so much more.
The weird thing? I become so overwhelmed with all the things I want to do that I end up doing not many of them at all. I spend too much time on social media! Why? I don't understand my brain. I just don't.
I need to start living more intentionally. Twitter has become a dumpster fire of white supremacists, Holocaust deniers, MAGA bigots, and so much more. I find myself on there less and less. Still, I have a wonderful community of friends on the app, so I haven't deleted it yet. But that day might be coming.
If you have a lot of interests, how do you juggle them all? I'd love some suggestions!
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Oh, we have tons of interests too. The writing gets priority (for Ian it's his music), then everything else kind of goes into a cycle.
ReplyDeleteWe alternative music festivals & events with writing festivals & events to accommodate us both.
He watches a gazillion YouTube videos to learn about just about anything, while I prefer to read about it in a book. Again, music (for him) and writing (for me) first, then photography (for him) and fiction, long and short (for me), then art (for him) and health & nutrition (for me), then anything else we want to learn, know or do.
Then we might, say, spend this weekend in the garden, the following weekend going to the seaside, the next weekend doing something in the house, and the next weekend going to a place of interest. And so on. There's nothing regimental about it, we tend to do what we feel like doing, but we do try to cover all of our interests evenly if we can.
But like a day job, the writing and music and Ian's day job do get first dibs and we try and fit everything else around it, including seeing the family or friends.
I love this! My boyfriend also watches tons of YouTube videos to learn or research stuff - and like you, I'd rather read a book about it. Ha! And it's so cool that you share your interests with each other.
DeleteI'm starting to listen to my intuition more as to when to put attention where. I find that my gut response brings me to the things that work better and make me happier, rather than the "shoulds" (once all the bills have been paid, anyway).
ReplyDeleteThe "should committee" sure does come into play with me, and it robs me of joy far too often.
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