What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?

I found it very difficult to think of a job I would like to do for one day. Every time I thought of a job that would be cool, I immediately thought of the negatives. 

A famous football player on match day? Yeah but it would be over in ninety minutes. And besides, I’m not that fit.

An F1 driver on race day? Cool, but I don’t know all the rules. 

A famous rock star on concert day? I’d have to rehearse the songs, and anyway, I’d hate everyone sucking up to me, and the constant demands for photos. 

Every job I think of I immediately find reasons why I wouldn’t want to do it. And I think that’s the point. It’s a job. I don’t want to do work any more, no matter what label you put on it, because I retired last year. 

Retirement is probably the best thing I’ve done in my life. I worked really long hard hours for many years. I built a business while I held down a full time teaching job, then quit teaching to run the business full time. Those were tough years. I was consumed by work. I lived breathed and ate my job, to the detriment of everything else. Looking back, it was a HUGE mistake. It took a huge toll on my mental health and my relationships. 

Working like that is not a good thing. You have to learn to stop, take time out and switch off. When I was 60, I learned I had ADHD. Suddenly all that intense hyper-focus made sense. I was told that it was one of the symptoms. Everything became crystal clear. I knew that I’d been ill for the longest time. So, I took early retirement and focused on getting better. 

Now, my priority is doing nothing. To spend time clearing my mind and staring into space. I potter around the garden, go for walks, do some DIY, and read. And do my blog. I love doing my blog

My favourite spot, surrounded by my art
Paul Carney Avatar

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10 responses to “Busy doing nothing”

  1. Valerie Allen Avatar

    Wow! Thank you for sharing that Paul! I can relate to working a job that consumes your life so much that nothing else is possible. I glad you have that time now to do what you want.

    1. Paul Carney Avatar

      Thank you Valerie. I’m so glad I am out of all of that.

  2. Strokio framen Avatar

    oh don’t be silly🤨
    you said i don’t wanna do a job but you’re creating fantastic artworks isn’t it a job? 😄
    well I must say what an art!

    1. Paul Carney Avatar

      Oh thank you! I don’t do much art these days either. This is my back catalogue! 🤩

  3. Balders Avatar

    Can’t believe that so much of what you have written here rings so true in my own life. Well done for following the path of retirement and realising your goals. I’ve set retirement as my main goal in life, it even says that on my intro on WP! Not that I’m counting, but I’m probably in my final two years of being every one’s “Bitch” (pardon the expression) at work. Every day I find a new reason to realise my goals. Again, well done in achieving this, hopefully I’m not too far behind you. Great post, thanks for sharing 👍

    1. Paul Carney Avatar

      I can thoroughly recommend it as a lifestyle choice. You realise just how much of your life has been spent chasing career goals, trying to make money and focusing on work work work, when in fact, there is so much more to life. Hope you enjoy it when you get across the finish line. Thanks for your support.

  4. markoconey5 Avatar

    too much coolines i refere more then hot tampertura

  5. Bbc Avatar
    Bbc

    I’d love to fly a plane over the Swiss Alps. I can only imagine the beauty I’d behold!

    1. Paul Carney Avatar

      Oh yes that would be spectacular!

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