Blog Dis
The decompression chamber...
2026-08-06
It's been over six months since I stopped working full-time for an organization, while continuing to blog and write my eighth novel, during the week regardless. Honestly, I wish I could admit that I've been able to fully decompress... well maybe a little bit. 😆
It's a strange thing, to be sure, to pull back a portion of your life that was as commonplace as it is to sleep. We spend nearly one third of our lives at work. I need to break it down to illustrate. There are 24 hours in every day, apparently, and seven days in a week, unless a day here or there is tucked away that none of us is to the wiser. If you get up early to work-out, get the kids ready, or whatever, by the time you sit down to your job, or show up on-site, it may already be 8 or 9 AM, after which you'll work the job until closing time at 5 pm or later. There's nothing wrong with this kind of life, and the incidentals of your day may vary from others, such as those who work shifts or tend bar into the wee hours of the morning. It's a good life if you're able to handle the full range of expectations, and not feel stressed by them or bothered by the politics of the people, and more so if you feel your brain is being challenged.
In total, therefore, a work week may add up to 37.5 hours at a minimum, over a five-day period with only 168 hours in total in a full seven-day period of time. If you're lucky, you might be able to sleep seven hours each night, for the full seven days, and this will add up to 49 hours of sleep per week. Taken all together: 37.5 hours of work per week in five days + 49 hours of sleep over seven days, and you're left with a whopping 81.5 hours of extra time, in a seven day period, to use at your discretion, maybe for fun, personal projects or whatever. The largest portion of these free hours will be gobbled up over the weekend, when supposedly you have the most free time, given that you're not working, unless of course you have multiple jobs, and don't ever have two days off. I know persons who exist in this reality too and believe me when I say they are tired all the time.
Don't forget, there are responsibilities like housework, which never ends, high-maintenance kids, outdoor and indoor activities, time spent texting or wading through emails, commute time to and from your place of work or when you have to transport your children to their activities. I haven't mentioned the amount of work a house requires to maintain or to include taking care of pets, nor did I add into the mix time to read. I usually earmark one hour a day, and I make it a point to catch up on daily events in the news. Your leisure time may also include carving out playtime with video games, to watch a movie, a TV series, and before you know it, you're back at it, come the new week.
This crazy life may feel like a chronic case of futility. We were not born to pursue a life of work, yet without a modest or even a generous income stream, all other activities would be rendered impossible, and you'd no longer be able to sleep soundly at night, to cherish the moments with family and friends or your private time alone. Who wants to be panicked about not being able to cover bills, unless you've spent your life managing your money carefully, and you're in a position to live modestly off your investments? In Canada, when you reach a certain retirement age, we're eligible to receive Canada Pension Plan benefits (depending on how long and how much you've paid into it as it's not applied universally across the board in each province). We also qualify to receive Old Age Security (a standard benefit payout). Even these payments are not nearly enough to cover all your bills; hence why you see individuals working well into their 70s or who pursue personal projects that can generate an income.
Is there more? There must be more to life!
I've discovered that the removal of a work structure has resulted in time racing by even faster. The hours fly by like they're strung out on speed. Sure. I get things done. I write each day during the week on my latest work-in-progress. I enjoy writing this blog too, so thank you for reading it😘and I work-out regularly, as well as socialize. I cycle as much as I can in summer. Yet, I foolishly thought that my brain would've settled down owing to the absence of a formal work structure. It hasn't. My brain still gets fired up. Too often, I feel rushed to accomplish all I want or have to do. I don't always sleep well at night either. What's up with this?
Is there a solution? There must be an obvious one!
This six month period of officially non-working time isn't a form of decompression. I've learned now that to believe your life will decompress at all is a fallacy. Your life is set at zero when you're born and officially begin to play this game called varoom, and with each day, week, month or year you step further away from the original starting point, to the stage when you'll have more past than future. This, my friends, is the primary reason why you'll want to focus. Push the envelope. Explore new worlds, whether these new worlds are in your backyard amongst the plants and flowers in your garden or they're the infinitely strange worlds of books that feature a different train of thought and stimulate the mind. Or maybe, you'll explore countries that you hadn't consider prior.
The last time I was able to enjoy a six-month break from a work environment occurred 17 years ago. Back then, time went as fast as a meteor gracing the night sky. This time, too, my six months have flown by way too fast. I can scarcely remember all I did. Thankfully, I'm old school and I keep a wall calendar in my kitchen, on which I mark down every activity. When I look back at each month, I'm mystified how I've managed to cope with the busy schedule.
If and when I return to finding a new work situation, I don't really know where I'll find the time. But knowing myself, I'll land on a new set point, a balance that allows me to parcel out my time appropriately, and to stay on top of my goals to finish writing novel eight.
Decompression is a delightful concept, almost like a hidden wish. You can tell yourself all you need to be told but the truth is this: sitting quietly in a room is a form of releasing pressure, to reduce the physiological hardships on your body, which invariably leads to your mind. Work will always be work, which is why they call it work and not play. We work toward a purpose.
To decompress or to impress?
Some of us attempt to lean into decompression, only when you set your sights on impressing others, you'll notice time becomes more like compression.
It's a strange thing, to be sure, to pull back a portion of your life that was as commonplace as it is to sleep. We spend nearly one third of our lives at work. I need to break it down to illustrate. There are 24 hours in every day, apparently, and seven days in a week, unless a day here or there is tucked away that none of us is to the wiser. If you get up early to work-out, get the kids ready, or whatever, by the time you sit down to your job, or show up on-site, it may already be 8 or 9 AM, after which you'll work the job until closing time at 5 pm or later. There's nothing wrong with this kind of life, and the incidentals of your day may vary from others, such as those who work shifts or tend bar into the wee hours of the morning. It's a good life if you're able to handle the full range of expectations, and not feel stressed by them or bothered by the politics of the people, and more so if you feel your brain is being challenged.
In total, therefore, a work week may add up to 37.5 hours at a minimum, over a five-day period with only 168 hours in total in a full seven-day period of time. If you're lucky, you might be able to sleep seven hours each night, for the full seven days, and this will add up to 49 hours of sleep per week. Taken all together: 37.5 hours of work per week in five days + 49 hours of sleep over seven days, and you're left with a whopping 81.5 hours of extra time, in a seven day period, to use at your discretion, maybe for fun, personal projects or whatever. The largest portion of these free hours will be gobbled up over the weekend, when supposedly you have the most free time, given that you're not working, unless of course you have multiple jobs, and don't ever have two days off. I know persons who exist in this reality too and believe me when I say they are tired all the time.
Don't forget, there are responsibilities like housework, which never ends, high-maintenance kids, outdoor and indoor activities, time spent texting or wading through emails, commute time to and from your place of work or when you have to transport your children to their activities. I haven't mentioned the amount of work a house requires to maintain or to include taking care of pets, nor did I add into the mix time to read. I usually earmark one hour a day, and I make it a point to catch up on daily events in the news. Your leisure time may also include carving out playtime with video games, to watch a movie, a TV series, and before you know it, you're back at it, come the new week.
This crazy life may feel like a chronic case of futility. We were not born to pursue a life of work, yet without a modest or even a generous income stream, all other activities would be rendered impossible, and you'd no longer be able to sleep soundly at night, to cherish the moments with family and friends or your private time alone. Who wants to be panicked about not being able to cover bills, unless you've spent your life managing your money carefully, and you're in a position to live modestly off your investments? In Canada, when you reach a certain retirement age, we're eligible to receive Canada Pension Plan benefits (depending on how long and how much you've paid into it as it's not applied universally across the board in each province). We also qualify to receive Old Age Security (a standard benefit payout). Even these payments are not nearly enough to cover all your bills; hence why you see individuals working well into their 70s or who pursue personal projects that can generate an income.
Is there more? There must be more to life!
I've discovered that the removal of a work structure has resulted in time racing by even faster. The hours fly by like they're strung out on speed. Sure. I get things done. I write each day during the week on my latest work-in-progress. I enjoy writing this blog too, so thank you for reading it😘and I work-out regularly, as well as socialize. I cycle as much as I can in summer. Yet, I foolishly thought that my brain would've settled down owing to the absence of a formal work structure. It hasn't. My brain still gets fired up. Too often, I feel rushed to accomplish all I want or have to do. I don't always sleep well at night either. What's up with this?
Is there a solution? There must be an obvious one!
This six month period of officially non-working time isn't a form of decompression. I've learned now that to believe your life will decompress at all is a fallacy. Your life is set at zero when you're born and officially begin to play this game called varoom, and with each day, week, month or year you step further away from the original starting point, to the stage when you'll have more past than future. This, my friends, is the primary reason why you'll want to focus. Push the envelope. Explore new worlds, whether these new worlds are in your backyard amongst the plants and flowers in your garden or they're the infinitely strange worlds of books that feature a different train of thought and stimulate the mind. Or maybe, you'll explore countries that you hadn't consider prior.
The last time I was able to enjoy a six-month break from a work environment occurred 17 years ago. Back then, time went as fast as a meteor gracing the night sky. This time, too, my six months have flown by way too fast. I can scarcely remember all I did. Thankfully, I'm old school and I keep a wall calendar in my kitchen, on which I mark down every activity. When I look back at each month, I'm mystified how I've managed to cope with the busy schedule.
If and when I return to finding a new work situation, I don't really know where I'll find the time. But knowing myself, I'll land on a new set point, a balance that allows me to parcel out my time appropriately, and to stay on top of my goals to finish writing novel eight.
Decompression is a delightful concept, almost like a hidden wish. You can tell yourself all you need to be told but the truth is this: sitting quietly in a room is a form of releasing pressure, to reduce the physiological hardships on your body, which invariably leads to your mind. Work will always be work, which is why they call it work and not play. We work toward a purpose.
To decompress or to impress?
Some of us attempt to lean into decompression, only when you set your sights on impressing others, you'll notice time becomes more like compression.
