On being idle

This was supposed to be the very first post on ymitif. (Come on, that one post in July '07 doesn't count, does it?) I wrote this piece in September '07, but I never got around to publishing it. Here goes.

So, here we go then. My very first piece. What better way to start off this blog than through idle thoughts on idling?

Idling is no less an art than time management. And somehow TM gets much more attention than idling. If someone came out with a book on, “How to cook, plan your grocery list, answer the phone, groom the dog and drive all at the same time”, it'll probably be on the top of every bestseller list for a year. That is, until someone comes out with something even more outrageously impossible.

Mind you, I don't have a problem if things get done quickly. But tell me, what are you saving all this time for? More free time for yourself? Hardly. If “time managers” are left to themselves with plenty of time on their hands and nothing in particular to do, they fidget. They tense up. They sweat. They worry about work that needs to be done by Tuesday, the week after next. In short, they drive themselves crazy.

On the other hand, these time-saving devices let you get more work done. And you end up doing more work. Burning your candle not merely at both ends, but like inserting tiny wicks all along the side and lighting them up as well. Like some macabre Christmas tree. Hot stuff.

That's where idling comes in. It lets you bring a bit of sanity into your life, when everything around is unraveling faster than wrapping paper at a kid's birthday party. I'm sure you've idled sometime recently as well. A few extra minutes with your coffee at work. Half an hour with the old newspapers in the attic while supposedly cleaning it up (For the record, there's no such thing as a clean attic. All of us just keep it an inch from spilling over into the rest of the house. A home with an empty attic is a sad home)

And as I said, idling is an art. There's no fun in idling when you are SUPPOSED to be idle. If you laze around and daydream while on vacation, and call that idling, you're missing the point completely. In any case you won't be able to do that for very long either. You'll fidget, sweat, worry and generally make a mess. Trust me, I've seen my fair share of summer vacations. The euphoria of being free from academics passes quite quickly, and I eventually end up joining some kind of class, or short-term programme. And I proceed to daydream there!

That sums up the first and foremost rule of idling. You should idle ONLY when you have something “BETTER” to do. The definition of “better” is entirely up to you. An extra ten minutes spent in bed is so much more enjoyable when you're supposed to be in early that morning. Doodling comes much more easily the evening before an important exam. Trash on the tube seems so much more palatable when there's laundry to be done... you get the drift.

Of all known ways to idle, I find the daydream to be the most convenient. It's entirely self-contained, in the sense that you don't need external gadgets like a TV. And it leaves no evidence, like doodling. This is especially important while in class. Writing is good too. Not “creative writing”, but just making a note of the random thoughts flitting in and out of your mind. Although eventually following the thoughts seems like too much work. So I wouldn't recommend it to the novice idler. Gotta start off easy and get into the spirit of idling.

So, daydreaming it is. Nothing quite matches the gossamer stories you can weave in the depths of your mind, when you have “important” things to do. It can be anything. Usually, in my daydreams, I'm the protagonist of whatever's playing in my head. I might be Terminator, using my steel fingers to scare the hell out of the pizza delivery guy(“Hasta la vista, punk”) . I might be a modern-day Rhett, making an impression on Scarlett (aka, my latest crush) without even trying. Or I'd have just beaten Federer at Wimbledon, with the perfect serve-and-volley game (Note to self: Gotta fish out tennis racket, it's been in the attic (!) for ages). Even the best role-playing video games can't give you ALL that. And there's so much more to dream about too. I think that's the best part of having an active imagination. It keeps you entertained for hours.

So get started. Time’s a-wasting. Every minute you spend doing something is one less minute to idle! And since you’ve just idled the last 10 minutes by reading this, I’d say you’re off to a good start!

A small piece of advice. Not everyone will give your idling the space and respect it deserves. Some might even go so far as to say, “What the blankety-blank do you think you’re doing?!!” Say you’re preserving your sanity. Or if you’re really into the daydream, just say, “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn” :D