Priorities

Michael Aranda posted an interesting video on his WhatI'mDoingRightNow channel the other day where he talked briefly about the way we think about time (and, more importantly, our free time). If you want to watch the video, the piece I'm referring to is 2:25 in, and lasts for about a minute and a half.

I am always moaning that I don't have time for things. Mostly, I moan that I haven't had the time to read for pleasure. I love reading. Curling up with a good book, a cup of herbal tea, and a couple of chunks of dark chocolate or a couple malted milks is honestly one of my favourite ways to spend an evening. At uni, I rarely do that. I claim that it's because I haven't go the time, but as Michael so astutely pointed out, it's because it's not a priority.

I'm not going to claim it's as simple as that. I have leisure time at uni. I just choose to spend the vast majority of that time on the internet watching people like Michael, or else socialising with my friends and housemates. I regret the amount of time I spend on the internet, and it honestly saddens me when I look back on my day and see how many times I've checked Facebook, or else count up the minutes (sometimes hours) I've spent watching YouTube videos.

I don't necessarily prioritise these things over reading because they are more important to me or because they give me greater pleasure. I mostly prioritise them because they give me the kind of stress relief that I need.

My degree is very reading heavy. I spend hours of my day either reading my own work or the work of others. By the end of that day, as much as I adore reading, I am fed up of it. I want to have a break and wind down, not only my mind but also my eyes. Watching YouTube on a low light setting is a lot kinder on my eyes than continuing to read. That's the sad truth.

So, yes, priorities have something to do when choose our activities, and they definitely have a part to play in picking our work activities. But they aren't the be-all and end-all, and it's interesting to look at the other reasons you may have for picking one task over another.

However, it's important to remember that you also need to look after your mental health. Sometimes prioritising an activity that might not be important in terms of school or your career but is important to your well being is an important thing to do. Taking time out for yourself (in balance) is such a healthy way to live. Don't always push your favourite things down your priorities list, or else they might drop off altogether, and take your well being with them.


What fun activities do you wish you could prioritise over practical things? What is your favourite way to spend your 'Me Time'? Leave a comment below, Tweet me @VickiMaitland, or tag me in an Instagram photo of your doing your favourite thing!

As we're thinking about Me Time, my next post will be the Me Time Tag - started by two of my favourite beauty YouTubers Estee and Amelia.

On a final note, Michael Aranda, whose video inspired this post, is one of the most consistent YouTubers I've ever seen. His daily vlog channel is very well edited (I find a lot of daily vloggers to be very rambling), and although due to technical reasons he's a couple of weeks backlogged, his videos are always entertaining. Or, at least, I have become invested enough in his life that I find them interesting. If you are able to prioritise watching a YouTube video, check out his channel, he really is very good.