One thing I’m constantly battling is procrastination, and I’ve discovered that I avoid tasks by engaging in several activities that bring me joy, although the time, money, and/or calories may or may not be good for me. So this week, I asked my fellow bloggers “What are some of your small guilty pleasures?”
I would say that snacking is one behavior that consumes a lot more of my time than it should. No, I’m not a slow muncher, but when you add in the time I spend thinking about food, going to the kitchen, talking myself out of it, returning to the refrigerator, repeating the last two steps several times, finally deciding on “just a little bit,” preparing a healthy portion, consuming the calories, and then berating myself afterward, then snacking takes up a LOT of time. Chocolate, of course, is my number one choice, so I try to have very limited quantities in the house. Holidays tend to crush that strategy, and my waistline is proof of that.
Online word games are another way I tend to avoid doing what I should be doing. Word Crossy and Words With Friends are my current favorites. I used to keep a puzzle book with me (crosswords, sudoku, word puzzles) to keep myself entertained when in waiting rooms or in the car, but now I simply open these apps on my phone or ipad. I probably spend a half hour or so each morning, another half hour at lunchtime, and a good hour each evening on them. If I didn’t indulge in these, I suppose I might have a cleaner house or maybe better sleep, but what would be the fun in that?
Reading has always been an escape for me. From the time I got my first library card, I’ve loved to learn about other places both real and imagined. Since I have so many other things I like to do, and many more that I MUST do, I need to keep myself from reading for pleasure until after 9 or 10 pm. That gives me a good two to three hours of reading on days when I have no evening plans (since mid-March, that’s every day!). If it’s a good book, midnight comes and goes and I read a lot longer. Whenever I finish reading a book I tend to sleep well, because I’ve lived through a journey, enduring whatever trials the main characters have fought against, and seen them through to the other side. When reading a romance, there’s almost always a happy ending that has me sighing and drifting off into peaceful slumber. So in essence, reading is necessary for my well-being, although the amount of time I spend doing it might be considered unusual.
What are some of your guilty pleasures?
Angela Schroeder
Patricia Kiyono
Elaine Cantrell
Jeff Salter
Joselyn
Tonette Joyce
Four Foxes, One Hound 
I, too, have found online games, and have to limit myself.,which I have been not bad about,(except at night!)
I guess that I will have to be honest with myself when I write this week’s post. I am running behind on getting ahead
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I think that retirement (not having to be somewhere every morning) makes it easier to indulge in activities that keep us awake later than we should be. And aren’t you always honest with yourself when blogging?
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Definitely chocolate for me… but you’ll hear more about that on Hound Day.
When you began with the word “procrastination”, my jaw dropped. You seem (to me) about the most organized and productive person I know… who is also creative. [I know lots of organized people who are NOT creative.]
You get more done (creatively) than anybody I know.
So how could you assert that you procrastinate?
I can only imagine if you did NOT procrastinate (as you claim that you DO), that you’d be a lean, mean, writing machine!
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Did I mention that I don’t sleep much? You’re very kind – but the things I get done would be finished much sooner if I DIDN’T procrastinate. That’s why I put off reading until later in the evening. I think sometimes I engage in sewing and crafting projects to put off other tasks, like cleaning. Still, I’m not sure I’d categorize those as guilty pleasures. They’re a part of me.
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Since I consider my writing a full-time job, I have no time for online games. But they have always seemed a waste of time to me. For a short time I did play one online, but it was very short lived. I had other things to do while working a 9-5 job and writing in the evenings. Now I like to spend time after dinner watching a movie or an episode of a TV series (NCIS, Magnum PI, or a DVD of the older episodes) with my husband and dog.
My guilty pleasure, outside of a dark chocolate snack every now and then, is ice cream. I love ice cream. But I usually restrict myself to having that on the weekends. Reading is also a pleasure to me, but I don’t have enough time for all the reading I want to do.
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I don’t watch much TV, and sitting down to watch a movie always makes me feel like I should be doing something else. So you and I both enjoy other people’s stories, but we choose a different way to absorb them. I love ice cream too, but seem to have developed an intolerance for it, so that makes it easier to limit!
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Ah – procrastination – one of my biggest challenges!
I spent far too many hours on online games – then quit them ALL. Didn’t play them for years, just because they took up so much time. A few months back started doing a Find the Item search game. Yes, a half an hour in the morning, sometimes, mid afternoon, and again in the evening. And POOF – all that time is gone. But then I justify it to myself – with all the dementia in the family (mom/Grandma/great-Grandpa/great-uncle) I’m doing this to try to keep my mind healthy and active so I don’t fall prey to the same. We’ll see if that theory holds true in a few years LOL
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I’ve used “keeping my brain engaged” as an excuse for playing word games, too. I have no family history of dementia, but prevention never hurts! As you say, time will tell. Thanks for weighing in!
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Oh, I can relate to the snacking and reading. Don’t do many word games.
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Words with Friends is a good game! I used to play it all the time. I haven’t played it in awhile. THe people I was playing with all stopped playing, I eventually took it off my phone when I no longer had anyone to play with.
I don’t keep chocolate in my house most of the year. It shows up around October and stays until after the holidays. This year was different since we were home so much, my wardrobe has noticed!
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