Since I've moved to New Place, I've taken it upon me to wash the dishes and stack them in the dishwasher on an almost-nightly basis. There are two reasons for that, so far as I can see, and I think they're both worthwhile. One, it's a small but necessary chore that no one really likes doing. My wife does a lot of (read: a massive amount of) other things already, so this is a way for me to show my appreciation of her, relieving a persistent responsibility. Two, it gives me some positive private time.
Okay, so it isn't particularly private. I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, often with the kids running around the island counter, chasing and laughing at each other. Our house is arranged in such a way that our kitchen is the most open room, the roof vaulting from the outside wall up above the second story (or, if you're British, storey) bedroom. It's about as far from "private" as can be.
However, since my older boys might get roped into clearing out the dishwasher if they come chasing each other too close to me, and they usually have other things to do, I find I don't have a lot of company most nights. This lets me watch YouTube videos (I've watched almost every Cracked video on pop culture I could find) or, more often, listen to audiobooks and podcasts that I'm interested in.
So far this year, I've finished programs on Revisionist History, World War I, the Civil War, Zealot, David and Goliath, Tipping Point, a podcast on rhetoric, and now I'm over halfway through a book about The Lusitania called Dead Wake. Twenty or thirty minutes each night, listening to these programs, has really enhanced my life. Just today, I utilized what I'd learned about the sinking of The Lusitania to give a much more detailed and engaging lecture about that event than I've ever done before. (Of course, whether or not the kids thought it was engaging is a different matter.)
I often play video games at the same time as listening to these programs, though I admit that I tend to pay less-than-strict attention to what's going on. Sometimes, that's okay. For example, I listened to both Pride and Prejudice and Things Fall Apart whilst playing Final Fantasy XV and Bloodborne. Since I know the two books really well, it didn't feel like I had missed out on anything because of the video games. The stuff on, say, the Civil War didn't stick as well, because a lot of the information was new, but poorly retained. Frankly, I was distracted.
Nevertheless, this process of having some private time to "read" while still helping out the family and keeping the house running well has been nice. While I wouldn't say I look forward to washing the dishes, I have come to appreciate its mindless urbanity as a way of growing as a person.
Maybe you could find the same satisfaction?
Okay, so it isn't particularly private. I'm standing in the middle of the kitchen, often with the kids running around the island counter, chasing and laughing at each other. Our house is arranged in such a way that our kitchen is the most open room, the roof vaulting from the outside wall up above the second story (or, if you're British, storey) bedroom. It's about as far from "private" as can be.
However, since my older boys might get roped into clearing out the dishwasher if they come chasing each other too close to me, and they usually have other things to do, I find I don't have a lot of company most nights. This lets me watch YouTube videos (I've watched almost every Cracked video on pop culture I could find) or, more often, listen to audiobooks and podcasts that I'm interested in.
So far this year, I've finished programs on Revisionist History, World War I, the Civil War, Zealot, David and Goliath, Tipping Point, a podcast on rhetoric, and now I'm over halfway through a book about The Lusitania called Dead Wake. Twenty or thirty minutes each night, listening to these programs, has really enhanced my life. Just today, I utilized what I'd learned about the sinking of The Lusitania to give a much more detailed and engaging lecture about that event than I've ever done before. (Of course, whether or not the kids thought it was engaging is a different matter.)
I often play video games at the same time as listening to these programs, though I admit that I tend to pay less-than-strict attention to what's going on. Sometimes, that's okay. For example, I listened to both Pride and Prejudice and Things Fall Apart whilst playing Final Fantasy XV and Bloodborne. Since I know the two books really well, it didn't feel like I had missed out on anything because of the video games. The stuff on, say, the Civil War didn't stick as well, because a lot of the information was new, but poorly retained. Frankly, I was distracted.
Nevertheless, this process of having some private time to "read" while still helping out the family and keeping the house running well has been nice. While I wouldn't say I look forward to washing the dishes, I have come to appreciate its mindless urbanity as a way of growing as a person.
Maybe you could find the same satisfaction?