The Strange Sweetness of Sedentary Life

Today is Thursday but I'm free because I'm on leave. And there's no better time to start blogging for the week. I'm learning to take the occasional break to recharge myself. And during this slow transition back from a pandemic lock-down to a normal life, I'm also taking the opportunity just to get out of my house.

My life is slightly different nowadays, due to the nature of my job. Workdays are intense with long hours but weekends and leave are completely work-free. Which is different from how I used to work, which is non-stop, but with less intensity.

I used to work in spurts of 2-3 hours. Set up myself at a cafe in between meetings, do some work and then take a walk around, which I think is pretty healthy.  Do I miss the kind of life I used to lead? A little. But you move on. There are pros and cons in being home-bound. One is that you actually spend a lot less in parking, petrol, coffee and other unnecessary expenses. It's true that your electricity bill will be higher if you have the air-conditioning running all day at home, but it is still less than what I'd pay monthly for petrol.

In a way I've moved on from being a nomadic hunter to a sedentary farmer. And it's remarkable how one can get used to different life-styles. I used to feel restless whenever I was not travelling for more than a week. Going to airports, checking into strange hotels and eating alone at restaurants was exciting to me. I loved hotels so much that I stayed in one for two years.

Now I would find it difficult to work as a nomad because I have a good workstation set up at home with two laptops and and two external monitors. And I just replaced my decade old chair with a good quality ergonomic one, complete with headrest and lumbar support. I'm afraid I won't be able to work from a cafe anymore, unless work involves just writing or blogging.

This sedentary life is a cheaper life to lead but it's also less healthy. For one, I walk a lot less--most days I just go downstairs and up again, multiple times a day. Occasionally I would go out to the nearest petrol station to buy my daily copy of the Star. That's one thing that I still enjoy wherever I'm at--reading the morning papers while having breakfast. 

I find enormous happiness in doing these small things: reading in the bathroom, listening to CNN every morning and writing in my journal with my favourite fountain pens. Blogging makes me happy, and this weekly ritual is like sharpening the saw, as Stephen Covey of the 7 Habits fame would put it. 

Now that the weekly sharpening is done, I'm moving on to my next task--my longhand journal. I'm not sure how long this period will last but enjoy it I will--this strange sweetness of sedentary life.