The Thing About Work Being Slow

A couple of months ago, I was having a grand old time adjusting to the lifestyle of an American tourist in Dublin (i.e., going to Guinness, Books of Kells, etc.) and the 55-degree, cloudy days (which I miss dearly). 

And while this trip of a lifetime was only just beginning, it gave some ample time for reflection on work. 

Not too much, because that sort of defeats the whole point of vacation. I sent one, maybe two, emails while we were away. And when I did check my inbox, I got less than one or two emails from anyone else. 

And it was great. 

Part of that was decent planning on my part. I worked hard in May to take most of June off (including an extra week for another round of COVID). 

The other part is things just haven’t been as busy this year. I’ve been ghosted by a handful of folks. Pitch emails go unanswered. Replies say, “we just don’t need that right now,” or “we found someone else.” 

For a while, the negative part of my brain honed in on this stuff. Made a mountain out of it. But when I sit back and think about it, this slow season has been a good thing. 

It’s given me time to do a bunch of stuff that I wouldn’t normally do when work is wide open. 

Things like grabbing lunch with my wife and our friends on a Tuesday and going to an art museum. 

And taking writing classes in the middle of the day. Or playing tennis in the morning instead of sitting down at my desk with a coffee. I even worked on some stuff for free (don’t @ me). 

Last Friday, I sat in a coffee shop and wrote an outline for a story. Then spent 45 minutes writing the first draft on Monday. 

This time last year, I was covered up with work. Now, I’m looking for more of it. 

But I actually think I’ve enjoyed myself a lot more this year. I’ve leaned into the flexibility of freelancing instead of always looking for more work. I don’t feel a ton of pressure and I think a lot of that comes from having a solid savings runway. 

It’s also a result of putting less of my identity into work. What I do at the keyboard is essential, but it’s not what I hang my hat on anymore. That’s reserved for all the stuff I’m blessed to do when I’m not sitting at a desk. 

In these moments away, nothing ever caught on fire. No one was asking me where I was.

And I’ll remember all the fun stuff much with more than time spent in my inbox.