Early this week I noticed the almond trees are in flower. It seems late - did I miss something? Maybe this was the end instead of the beginning. Maybe need a walk in the Retiro tomorrow - there is an area with lots of almond trees. Too busy to go do Almond Park Max (Quinta de los Molinos), though maybe I should try to find the time…
It’s time…. Again.
So yes, I have been pondering time (again). Whether this is because of studying history or a late-middle / early elder age “crisis” or lingering angst from our not-friend COVID, time has been on my mind (again).
But now instead of the big chunks of time and what events we use to divide periods or measure time – by nation or personally – thinking more of time on the small, daily scale.
As in, time as a too-scarce resource. There never seems to be quite enough of it to get done all the must-do things and still have enough left over to have fun. Kind of like money, for those of us who are not uber-wealthy.
Some people seem to have this figured out – the time thing at least. People who seem to do a million things, never seem stressed, always have time to stop for a coffee or a chat.
The rest of us, or at least lots of people I know, seem to be permanently scrambled and stressed. I don’t know if the first group just has fewer things to do, is more organized, or maybe they’re just able to stress less about time.
So I’ve been trying to figure out how to make better use of time, and stress less about “wasting” time. That is a tough balance which I have not reached and may never reach. But any book or online method about productivity will tell you that there are little bits of time everywhere that you can use for mini-bursts of productivity (answer two emails? Wash the few dishes in the sink? Brush the cat?) that will leave bigger chunks for big tasks or for big fun.
Part of me gets that. The other part says that big chunks of time are waaaaay more useful, so why try to be productive for 15 minutes. As in. I’m working on a project for my new history class, but it makes no sense to sit down to write unless I have a big chunk of time. But maybe proofread what is already written?
The other thing is, we really do need to be able to waste time every now and then – as long as we are not on a deadline. Wasting time might even be productive, if it lets us clear the brain before diving back into something challenging.
How’s that as a justification for a jigsaw or a sudoku? My treats after spending most of the morning reading history, before going back to a little more reading. But I really do need to switch up that time wasting, as in, my new crochet hooks are still in their cute purple case, my scarf drawer is still a mess and my project for planting herbs on my balcony also still just a project.
BUT! I have done some recreational cooking (lentil bread which was good though did not turn out as expected) AND a yummy orange marmalade with ginger-garlic-cardamom to put on fish.
So here’s my deal with myself: consider at least some time wasting as productive. That idea may mutate or evolve, but actually is not a new idea at all. Quote by Bertrand Russell: The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time. (I did a quick look at some of his other thoughts and my brain is too tired to go any farther).
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So. My history class this spring is 20th century. Promises to be a bumpy but fascinating ride. I’m reading a book right now about how dictator Francisco Franco organized his “New State” after defeating the liberal, legally elected Spanish Republic in the Civil War. You don’t want to hear how much history can repeat itself. But. The Spanish Civil War was sort of the first act for World War II (1936-1939). Franco got help from Hitler and Mussolini, which let those two countries get some practice before the big war. It’s a complicated period, but really important to understand Spain and even to understand the rest of Europe (rising totalitarian governments, oh my). There are many, many books on this war, many of them good but too complicated for an introduction to get the basics and to see if you want to know more. So here’s my recommendation if you are curious: The Spanish Civil War, a Very Short Introduction, author Helen Graham, publisher Oxford University Press. It’s about 150 pages of text, including some information about immediate aftermath of the war and a very interesting short chapter called The Uses of History; has a basic timeline, a good bibliography and a nice glossary, which most Spanish history books do not have.
The course has two optional special projects, one is all writing which is half done. The other actually looks fun: identify and explain five photos of events in the time frame we are studying, events from 1977 (legalization of the Spanish Communist Party, all parties were illegal under Franco), up to a COVID testing site, including the attempted coup in 1981 when 200 armed military burst into a joint session of Congress to try to stop the voting for Prime Minister and take over (ummmm). Plus a graph with evolution of political parties, tending towards a two-party system instead of the eight or nine parties we have now – we will never be only two parties but may get down to six or seven?
Hope you are all enjoying spring. Madrid is in the middle of the usual fake-news spring, sunny and warmish, though winter will return when we least expect it. (I’m actually hoping for a wet weekend so I can finish my history projects).