pencil in more "do nothing" time
What would it look like to have a sustainable relationship with unstructured time in an optimization-obsessed world?
I used to spend so. much. energy. trying to fill every gap in my schedule. If I wasn't being productive, I was immediately failing. I didn't know how to have blank space in my calendar without feeling like 1000 fire ants were invading my skin alongside copious amounts of guilt.
Those open hours felt like missed opportunities, proof I wasn't maximizing my potential. (And 20-something me had so much belief in our potential, so that was clearly unacceptable.)
But here's what I've learned through years of recovering from that mindset: unstructured time isn't empty time—it's a playground for your nervous system, creativity, and self-trust.