What do you do when you have unexpected extra time? I finished early today, catch-up with my friend rescheduled, and John was at a conference till late. I found two whole hours before my next scheduled task! I brought my Filofax out to see what I could slot in when I felt like trying something different.

I returned home, put my phone on Quiet Hours instructing Cortana to only allow specific people to break through, & made myself mint tea out of our back garden herb (recipe used: here). Spent time reading under focussed light in our darkened living room; followed by listening to Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka speak about human dignity, radicalisation, power & freedom.

Like many I listen to podcasts whilst commuting/ doing chores I hate. I wouldn’t call it a relaxing activity. Yet there was something about listening without distractions- imagining, following lines of logic through, & just focussing on the speakers’ voices. The whole thing was unexpectedly rejuvenating & left my mind quite focussed. What a curious find! Does this ever work for you?

What do you do when you can steal time away from your schedule?

[PS: couple of related articles by the extraordinary computer scientist Cal Newport: Listen to Baseball On Radio & Read a (Real) Book Slowly]