Monday 21 May 2012

Why I don't like afternoons...

Afternoons are a funny thing. You wake up in the morning being (hopefully) bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, raring to go and ready for anything. In the evening, you're either settling down to watch TV or a lovable family film, before snuggling down into your nice, warm bed to drift off to the land of nod - or, you're getting excited about painting the town red and seeing your best girl (or guy) friends, before stumbling in at 3am and collapsing onto aforementioned warm bed....

Which leaves the afternoons. Afternoons are weird. They seem like they last forever, yet, it's only a few hours long. Maybe it's just because I don't have any more coursework to complete and I don't yet have a full-time job, but I always get into a lethargic state in the afternoons. It's that period of the day which SHOULD be the most productive....these four or five hours where it's just me and my imagination, and I should be cracking on with writing my first-ever literary bestseller....

Instead, I'm sitting here forcing myself to keep tapping at the keyboard, whilst constantly checking the clock and wondering whether it's acceptable to go for an afternoon nap. I'm twenty-one. I should not think that afternoon naps are acceptable. And yet, I find myself going for one more and more. Why? Because, honestly, it gives me something to do that isn't work or housework. Sad, isn't it?

I know, I know, I should be sitting here feverishly writing page after page after page....but all I want to do is sit and stare into space, until that magic hour of 4pm, when I'll jump up, make a cup of tea and have that long-waited for chocolate biscuit (or, judging by the state of my cupboards, a chewy/stale Caramel Snack-a-Jack). What is it about the afternoons that makes us so sluggish and, in my case, grumpy? Is it because, now that we've got (most of) the housework out of the way and eaten lunch, we simply want to hibernate until it's time to perk up again to make dinner?

The Duchess of Bedford had the right idea when she thought of Afternoon Tea...however, I'm finding it hard to muster the energy to go and turn the kettle on, let alone bake a Victoria Sandwich cake, a dozen scones and some macaroons thrown in for good measure.

So, how about you? How do you feel about the afternoons? Maybe you love them and, for you dear authors, it's your favourite time to sit down and write. Or maybe you're like me, and you're more of a morning person....or maybe there's just something medical wrong with me, and I better go and get checked out, pip pip.

xx

8 comments:

  1. Afternoons are my least productive time! But, I work my ass off in the mornings, so even though I still have loads to do, by the afternoon, I've had enough!

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    1. Ahh, you're a morning person like me! Although it sounds as though you do more than me in the mornings lol...you deserve the afternoon off if you've done a full morning's worht of work :)!

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  2. I don't know why it is, but I do not like afternoons either. I am 26 years old and I use afternoons for naps too. The last thing I think of doing is writing in the afternoons. But maybe I should start.

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    1. Haha! Maybe it's a young adult/granny thing?? It would be a good idea, but it's hard to even get motivated to start working! Especially when the sun is shining, like today!

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  3. Every afternoon around 3pm I can physically feel my body telling me it needs a rest. During that time I usually read for a while. So, for me, it's break time. YAY!!!

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    1. Ooh, that's a good idea RaShelle! Maybe instead of working solidly through the afternoons, I can work til around 3pm, then take an hour off, and then get back into it?? Sounds like a good plan to me :)!

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  4. Ugh yea afternoons are HORRIBLE for me. I always find them so boring and long and I either do absolutely nothing or listen to music just to make them pass by faster.. Doesn't mean they do. But I do get up and do stuff when it's cloudy. I think that's the only time I feel like doing something at that time of day.

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  5. I feel the same...I'm 66 years ...and even when I was a young woman I never liked afternoons. I am a morning person...so productive. And I do like evenings from 5 to 9.
    The only thing one should do in the afternoon...according to moi...is watch a movie, read a magazine, nap. You should buy this book..about rituals....when famous people are most productive...some agree with morning ..others afternoon and
    others evening. Afternoons are just not for me..
    Name of Book:
    Daily Rituals: How Artists Work by Mason Currey (Apr 23, 2013)

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