Wow. I think this is the longest I’ve gone without writing a blog post and I don’t like it at all. I’m going to offer up two excuses: The first is that I need a break from the internet to get my creativity going again and the second is that I really just don’t have much to write about.
I’ve definitely found myself settled into a weekly routine here involving the kinds of things that settled-type people do. Mornings I go to the gym (or opt to veg out in my hammock instead), afternoons I work or hang out with a friend and evenings are spent doing various activities: Quiz night on Monday, Tuesday nights are usually spent cooking a meal and then watching 30 Rock or Dexter, Wine Wednesday on, well, Wednesday at Papyrus, Thursdays are sometimes spent watching my housemate rip it up at karaoke, Friday nights at Republika before heading out for a night of dancing, Saturdays are usually spent vegging out and watching movies, and Sundays are almost always spent on the couches with friends at my favourite cafe, Shokola, before having a quiet night at home. Throw in the occasional party, visiting friend, meal at a local bar, walk around town or dinner at friend’s houses and you have my life. The whole thing kind of runs like clockwork and I think I like it.
But this routine doesn’t bode well for the blog. I’ve been working hard on my Kigali site which I’ve written about. Now I’m getting to work on my backpacking in Africa site but things are going slow. Then there’s the Haiti charity bike ride that I’ve mentioned but haven’t gone into too much detail about. I need to build a site for that. Then there are a couple of sites that I’ve volunteered to build that need some finishing touches. Plus all the usual email answering and maintenance. I’m busy but I have nothing new to report because I’m avoiding working, even though I have loads to do!
The reason I think things are moving so slowly and I’m not really getting much new work done is because I haven’t taken a break away from the net in months. I recently spent a couple of nights in a city called Gisenyi which is on Lake Kivu, the main lake in Rwanda. It’s gorgeous and I left my computer behind. But I was in such a vegetative state that I didn’t think about work at all. I normally get my ideas when I’m away from the net but, since I’ve been overdoing it lately, I haven’t had any time to be creative. When I went to Gisenyi I think I just wanted to shut my brain down for a couple of days, sit in the sun and listen to music.
I feel like I’ll be in this situation until I take a longer break. Fortunately for my business, that’ll be soon! I’m heading back to Haiti, leaving Kigali on April 5th. I’m excited about this trip for lots of reasons but an added side bonus is that it’ll give me that much needed time offline for me to get excited about working again. I really do love what I do, but I’ve learned over the years that I have to have breaks in order to keep that excitement for creating new sites or improving old ones. Up until recently I’ve always weaved periods of travel or volunteering into my work, usually four months at a time. Four months in one place working, four months travelling and volunteering, and repeat. It works.
So basically this post is one big excuse for being lame and neglecting my blog. But I guess it’s also a glimpse into how I work best. I know this on/off thing works for me and now I know that it’s kind of a requirement for me to take breaks every few months. I’ll be gone from Kigali for six weeks (or maybe longer if All Hands end up in Japan) and I’ll miss it. But I’m looking forward to all of the stops on my trip and I’m already looking forward to coming back to Kigali. I’m excited about travelling again which is something that I also know only comes once I’ve been settled in one place for awhile. This is a part of the balance as well, it would seem!
So that’s that. I might be a crappy blogger this month but things will get interesting again soon, I think! How do you guys balance your working and playing lives? Do you feel like getting away from the internet boosts your creativity and desire to work, or do you get too used to the ‘vacation’ and dread getting back to work?
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