I’ve found that if idle hands do the Devil’s work, then the Devil’s work is pretty great.
I’m a university student, and I can largely choose the amount of work I want to have. Each quarter, I can choose whether to take 3 or 4 classes, choose the difficulty of my classes, and also set limits on how much work I allow myself to do for those courses.
This past quarter has been my busiest. I’m in the seventh week of a nine-week quarter (plus one week of finals), and I’ve been pretty drained these past few weeks. More and more time has been siphoned away towards school and away from my side projects. My schoolwork begins early in the day and ends late in the evening. But it’s been great.
I’ve loved what I’m learning this quarter. I’m learning to program in C (quite a fun process for someone who’s only ever coded in higher-level languages such as Java and Python), learning a bunch of really cool math, finally understanding economics (as much as one can understand it from one course), and spending time engaging with important religious texts. It’s awesome.
But I’ve noticed something important about myself. Free time is my greatest asset. Not solely because it helps me recharge and allows me to engage in meaningful projects but because I create my best when I have a good bit of free time.
