Idle hands for best balance

ONCE upon a time, I would get excited about all the things I had planned on the weekend. These days, the weekends that have a blank in the diary – nowhere to be and nothing to do – are the best to look forward to. My how things have changed.

Life can become too busy for us and for our kids. Throw on top of school and work a few after-school activities, social engagements and chores and soon enough, the time left for downtime has quickly dissolved.

I had the conversation with a fellow parent about how I was considering dropping my son’s swimming lessons this term. It goes without saying that swimming is an essential skill and something I have valued since he was a baby but, together with all our other commitments, I was weighing up whether some downtime would be more beneficial. My friend said she was thinking about not going ahead with softball for her child, as it was a fair drive to get there, resulting in more pressure.

As the article on this page questions, where is the downtime, which creates the opportunity to get bored, which in turn leads to more creative thinking? Downtime is something I am trying to actually schedule into my week, seeing it as just as important as those other commitments. All of us, big people and small, need it.

It’s a time to recharge those batteries and yes, to get creative.