Mind Wander

With all of this new found time on your hands, are you better off learning a new skill or instead practicing “mind wander”? 

I think it’s safe to say, a lot of people have more time on their hands than usual.  And with this abundance of life force pooling into our outstretched palms as we stare out our open doorways with longing eyes and nowhere to escape to, it’s hard to not hear in the background all the chatter about what you should be doing with your life right now. 

Every day as I glance at the latest news articles (I am not FI so I do watch the news daily and follow the markets way too much) and listen to my podcast queue, there is a constant barrage of suggestions of what you can be doing right now to improve your life and make yourself recession proof… you should be more productive, take a new class online, join a zoom webinar, start a business, learn a new skill, get ahead in life, optimize better…  etc. etc. etc. 

And if that’s you, and what you want to spend your time doing, that’s great.  I am not bashing this at all.  Go for it.  Get on it.  Make some progress on those things you’ve been putting off.  All I’m trying to do is clearly state that I am not against any of these life improvements. 

However, what I personally have been doing… is the exact opposite. 

The more noise I hear about what I should be doing, I started thinking to myself.  Well, what the fuck have I been doing?  Because I, Q-FI, like many other people in the world have found more time in my life lately which has been amazing! (in light of the world-ending pandemic that has struck) 

So what have I been doing you ask?  Simple.  Decompressing. 

The gods have dropped down from whatever heaven they claim as home, handed me some lemons, and I’m fucking going to make the most epic batch of slit-your-tongue-in-half-pure-bliss-exploding lemonade that ever graced the surface of this planet! (yeah, I got a little carried away with that one) 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand.  What does this epic Q-FI decompressing look like?  Well, thanks for asking. 

I call it… MIND WANDER! 

(These words literally just popped in my head right now, so I have no fucking clue if this is a real term, and I’m too lazy to google it, so that’s what I’m using.  Just being honest and transparent here.) 

Again, what the fuck is “mind wander” you ask? 

Well… not much I have to say, just doing what you want, when you want in a relaxing and anxiety-free way.  Kick back, put your feet up and enjoy life before the Hurricane arrives.  Because that’s what my professional working life feels like… a hurricane. 

So let’s see what my life was like pre-pandemic: 

I’d wake up at 4:30am to work out, leaving the house by 5:30am for work, arriving at the office around 6:20am, powering through who-the-fuck-knows-what chaotic projects all day long, leaving the office hopefully by 5:30-6pm, battling the hour-plus commute home through the crawling waves of cars to arrive at my door and see my beautiful wife (hopefully) by 7pm, rest for a few minutes, eat dinner and be in bed by 10pm. 

It was a fucking jam-packed schedule and that was only a normal day.  Now, let’s contrast this with my new work-from-home pandemic schedule: 

Yesterday I woke up at 6:30am, grabbed my coffee, scanned the news and updates on the virus at 7am and prepped for an 8am zoom call, did some more work and zoom calls all day long while taking little breaks in between and finished up around 5pm, well rested and happy.  At 5:30pm I strolled outside on this beautiful sunny Spring day with a cocktail in hand (non-alcoholic, which for me is usually a flavored sparkling water on ice, with a slice of lime and if I’m lucky a slice of jalapeno, it gives a good kick on the edge of your lips – try it some time, dropping a slice or two of jalapeno in your next margarita or club and vodka, you’ll love it if you like spicy things.) 

So, with this new life of quarantine, although I have lost my freedom and options for outside living, I have actually gained almost 4 quality hours in my day!  I have to admit, I like this new working from home schedule.  It has been a nice addition to all of the other stressful things happening right now. 

BUT, and this is a huge but, I know this is only temporary.  This is a unique reprieve that will be ending at any moment.  My decompression and drifting “mind wander” will not be staying at my side permanently.  So for me, it’s better not to burden my body and brain with new things, but rather take advantage of this rare opportunity to unplug, relax and unwind.  I’m betting I will never have another chance like this to recharge my batteries and slow down life over a few months’ time period during the rest of my working career.  So why not indulge in the little things and for once not worry about getting ahead… but instead give my body the rest and care it deserves. 

Alright, so what does this “mind wander” actually look like for me? 

Unfortunately, I hate to disappoint you, but nothing flashy.  Just a couple simple hobbies that I’ve put off for a long time.  But what I have been able to do, I enjoy immensely, which so far has consisted of spending more, what I consider “quality” (air quotes insert here) time with my wife (she is furloughed so she literally has nowhere to go), reading fantasy novels (read 11 last month – blew through the Witcher Series and the Acacia Trilogy), I still love spending hours on end in my garden tinkering with succulents and blissfully watching my plants (my wife interprets this as me doing nothing outside), and once in a while watching a Netflix series with my spouse (I want to be clear this is not the increased quality time I previously mentioned.  Ha!). 

These things don’t sound like much.  But when I used to work in my corporate office, I was enclosed by white walls and staring at a computer screen all day long and sometimes wouldn’t even see the light of day until I walked outside to leave and go home. 

This has an effect on you, and not a good one. 

Now, I sit at my desk at home and look out an open window – sun dappled emerald-green trees stare back at me while a whispering breeze tickles my skin.  My dual monitor computer screens no longer haunt me, they’ve become a tool for achievement once again and nothing to fear.  I can walk outside in a moment and feel the sunshine on my face when taking a break from a zoom call.  These small, little changes in my daily work schedule have an immense impact on me.  When you’re connected to nature you feel more alive, your focus increases and your productivity flows like it should. 

…because you’re happier. 

My conclusion for this ongoing experiment of working from home has been overwhelmingly positive and refreshing to simplify things and get the opportunity to view life through a different lens – a lens of less stress and anxiety that has bought me more time… much needed time for me… to decompress and allow my mind to heal and wander… like it naturally should. 

-Q-FI 

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P.S. So how about you, have you found more time on your hands lately?  And if so, what have you been doing?  Are you more of the learn a new skill crowd?  Or are you like me, you need time to settle down and let that frazzled mind wander…