I look at my "to do" list, and there's the usual range of mundane stuff. I've got to put away laundry. Do some grocery shopping. Pay some bills. Prepare for my D&D game. Okay, maybe that last one isn't so mundane.
But that leads into the other part of the "to do" list that encapsulates my eternal dilemma:
- Start re-reading The Artist's Way.
- Resume my Masterclass in writing.
- Build some custom Magic: the Gathering decks.
- Work on my personal programming project.
- Learn the key idioms of Java 8.
- Draw maps for the D&D adventure I wrote for the Adventurer's League.
I want to be a better software developer/software development manager. I want to enjoy time gaming and be competitive when I'm playing against other people. I want to be a better writer -- hell, I guess it's fair to say I want to be a writer at all. And therein lies my problem -- I have all these interests (perhaps I could call them passions), and there's not enough time in the day to become really good at all of them. But when I try to decide which one(s) to give up to make time for the others, I fail, because I enjoy them all so much. And so I go on, splitting my time across multiple hobbies. Rotating across them all -- this week one gets more time, next week it might be another -- and never settling on any one.
According to the Myers-Brigs personality test, that's about par for the course for my type, which is ENFP. Maybe I should take comfort in the fact that there are only three main categories of hobbies on which I spend my time. At least I can keep rotating through three groups of hobbies and keep them all fresh and active. Oh wait, there's reading. I guess that's four, unless you roll it up under writing, since it's said that to be a good writer you must also be well-read. So, does that make community theater number four or number five?
I am very fortunate. I have a job that pays very well, the commute isn't bad, and most days are pretty interesting, so I'm happy to keep doing it and thus being able to afford the luxuries I choose to indulge in. I don't have to worry about the roof over my head or where the next meal is coming from. I lead a cushy life, and I realize that.
It feels weird to sort-of complain about not having enough time to do all the awesome things I want to do, about having to figure out which of them is more important to me and devote more time to that, when there are people out there who have to choose between eating or keeping the heat on. So, I guess I'll stop complaining and just embrace it. And maybe see what I can do with one or more of those passions to help make life better for a few people out there...
