I got handed a @TimeOutLondon magazine today and it made me ponder its title.  #TimeOut to me, would suggest taking ‘Time Out’ from what you are doing, but what am I, or most of us, really doing most of the time?  Other than at work, my life is very unstructured (Yes I am the single, city gal…and trust me, it’s not so glamourous!) and the idea of taking ‘Time Out’ of my ‘bumbling’ doesn’t ‘excite me’ so therefore doesn’t make any sense.  Deciding that taking ‘Time Out’ from ‘busy’ is what you’re essentially doing when you leave work to engage in the array of activities on offer is only one way to look to at it…

Firstly being #busy can have multiple meanings… I know that I’m guilty of stating that I’m ‘busy’ to friends when I’ve actually made a conscious decision to stay in a few nights that week just to be home, tidy my flat and sleep (particularly if I was away the previous weekend) and do ‘Personal Admin’ (Bills/Emails etc) or the weeks that I preempt being busy due to work, even though really, its those nights where I just cant switch off so therefore, I do nothing…and am definitely not really that busy.

I also think the word ‘Out’ has a negative connotations to me in the sense that when I ‘Go Out’, I go drinking and socializing but probably don’t achieve or gain anything.

The blinding revelation that I’ve had today that maybe sums up a lot of what this blog has helped me achieve, is that I am thinking that maybe it would make more sense to me to think about putting ‘Time In-To’ activities instead?  i.e. Changing my mindset to be INCLUSIVE of what are described as ‘extra-curricular’ activities and submersing myself ‘In-To’ cultural events…and channeling my energy even when I’m staying in, ‘In-To’ a more proactive approach than my usual ‘Chilling Out’ achieves.

It’s not finding ‘extra’ time, its just engaging the time you have into more productive and purposeful activities.

I used to wonder how people managed to study after their day jobs, I admired their determination and dedication, whereas now I realize that I was the only one missing a trick by not putting my time into something meaningful to me that could enrich my life.

My Dad has always said ‘Work hard, play hard’ and I guess putting ‘Time In-To’ both your work life and personal – rather than taking ‘Time Out-Of’ it, will mean you achieve a hell of a lot more!