Scheduled Lives

There are numerous ways that our lives are controlled by others. Some are obvious (schooling) while others are kind of subtle. One day an unusual thought crept into my mind. I trust my mind and body to tell me when I need something. Would it be better to go to sleep when I feel tired enough to sleep rather than off of a loose schedule (even if you don’t have a set time that you go to bed, time is still likely a factor)?

Let’s see. Work. The little television the a watch. My frequent walks. It’s not easy to base sleep off of when you feel like you should go to sleep. Work is the obvious obstacle to all of this since I don’t have the flexibility to improvise a schedule (you would have to work for yourself to have this luxury). I should also point out that my walking goes through a park that opens at sunrise and closes at sunset. Even if I could experiment, the clock would influence my days.

It’s not just sleep that I don’t like scheduling. There are times when I feel like I just need to think. If I’m working or sleeping, I’m not thinking. I feel that a lack of mental activity could very well harm my mental health.

Even if you have some time off, deviating from a schedule could make it difficult to return to normal. Let’s say you usually go to bed around 11 PM. If you sleep has wandered to 11 AM, it might take days before you can force yourself back on schedules. Meals are another issue. If you are scheduled to be somewhere at a certain time, you don’t want that to be when hunger hits. It’s usually better to make a habit out of eating around a certain time.

Perhaps there will be a day when I don’t have a job (or somehow found a way to work for myself) and have no plans for a job search. Maybe then I can experiment with an unscheduled life. Until then, I’m going to have to continue to base a part of my life off of when other people prefer to do things.