AMA: Where Do You Find The Time…?

Where and how do you get all this time to be wheeling around?

This Ask Me Anything was one of the first questions that I received. I did have a video response to it that I must’ve accidentally deleted because I can’t find it now. ::sad trombone:: So, I’m going to peck out a typed response.

The funny thing about this question is that I often feel like I never go anywhere and never do anything. I’m frequently plagued with the sense that much of my life consists of things I have to do versus things I want to do.

Mundane: I work a typical 40 hour-a-week job with 5 weeks of PTO a year. Nothing earth-shattering there as far a free time goes. I’m a teenager’s mom, a wife, and a dog’s human – I’ve got plenty of life-maintenance things that keep me occupied.

Magic: I write my blog in such a way that obviously makes some people think I have a lot more free time than I really do. This isn’t an intentionally deceptive choice, just a stylistic one.

For example: when I take a trip somewhere it makes more sense to me to write about it in multiple small posts versus one long diatribe. A long-form post is one and done. Trip happened, it’s over. Single posts on the other hand, can stretch out the perceived timeline and help it linger. The posts become paragraphs or chapters of a larger story. And in those paragraphs you can dwell on smaller details and ideas. In the long run I believe you say more that way.

Though I may have only been gone for a week, I could be writing about it for months. As the saying goes, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. That concept helps to keep my posting-train from going off the rails but also makes some people think I’m always on the go.

When not away away, I take my free time when it presents itself. You look at the things that need to be done and the things you want to do. If I budget my time, can I do both? If I can, I will. If the choice is between vacuuming on a Sunday morning and going for a ride? The ride wins. My floors will still need vacuuming when I get home.

Also, and this is huge and may be the linchpin to everything – I have a tremendously supportive and flexible family. Each of us is independent and appreciative of the things the others like to do. Life would be a challenge without this in place.

The blurriest line that occurs when you blog is the one between you-you and the reader’s you. As the writer, you can only take people so far. The reader fills in the gaps based on their own perceptions. Some people are astute at picking up nuances of your personality or life, while other assumptions are wildly incorrect. In the end we all see what we want or need to.

TLDR: I’m not a galavanting adventurer. I just play one on my blog 😉

Fuzzygalore

Rachael is the whimsical writer behind the 20+ year old Girlie Motorcycle Blog. As a freelance blogger, she is on a mission to inspire laughter, self-examination, curiosity, and human connection. Girlie Motorcycle Blog can be found on several Best Motorcycle Blog lists.

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4 Responses

  1. te says:

    It’s been said; “My apartment is where I sleep; The world is where I live”. And; “Life moves pretty fast, If you don’t stop and look around once in a while”…..ahh, you know the rest.

  2. RichardM says:

    What you don’t want to say is that your typical, mundane job is finding all of the roadside oddities in the world… 😉

  3. Mike Ross says:

    The grass is always greener. I haven’t worked in about 9 years and I sometimes find myself dreaming about work (in a weird way). Until I sold my bike last fall I rode 20 days a month and at times it was a big decision to decide where to go. It probably sounds ridiculous, but too much free time can be as tricky as “not enough hours in the day.” Note: I’ve never uttered that phrase in 58 years.

    You’re right though, looking at all your bikes and the awesome trips it looks like you’re sitting in the catbirds seat. I mean, who can afford a KTM 690 Enduro? Wait a minute, is that why you work 40 hour weeks?

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