New Plans for Every Other Friday

So suddenly I'm calling them "Intentional Fridays" and trying to define a list of activities that qualify.

Essentially, the idea is to treat my every-other-Friday-off as the gift it truly is: and opportunity to invest in

my LIFE, rather than the work I do to support it.

The deal I'd cut (the idea I'd proposed) was that every other Friday I'd get up with Matt and leave the house with him, so I could be out in the world (even if only at coffee shop) and engaging in something meaningful at the opening of the day. The idea continued that I'd stick to my "intention" for at least 2-3 hours, so that I could still benefit from the joys of pure, unplanned time in the afternoon.

And then I realized that I'd just assumed that to be of value, that time had to be writing time.

But wait, aren't I also committing to a bigger, broader approach to this 40th year? So I've expanded the "intentionals" list. Here we go: writing, fostering fiction/creativity/inspiration (research, reading a good work of fiction or seeing an artistic movie), exercising, or providing support for family and friends – particularly family.

Because I realized that a serious strain of guilt has been growing in me over the past year or so - the idea that I'm not doing enough as my parents age and my friend's lives (and Matt and my life too) accrue complexity and challenge.

So instead of feeling guilty for not writing (or whatever it is I'm not doing on any given day) my goal is to commit that time simply to moving onto a positive path for the next 40 years. To dedicating at least 3-4 hours, every other week to the things that will sustain me in the long haul.