Unstructured Time

I think that I am temperamentally, and possibly neurologically, a process-oriented person. Finishing things doesn't do much for me. I feel no rush of excitement or accomplishment to speak of. Setting and completing goals doesn't motivate me much. This probably explains why I'm not a very competitive person, at least in the conventional sense. I like to run, and it's the running itself that I love. I used to like to perfect soccer techniques, but I was fine if teammates scored all the points. This may sound very boring and uninspiring, and I admit it may be to most people. All of my passion lies in the process and the perfection thereof; it is in the heat of the task at hand that my endorphins are highest. Results are pleasant byproducts.

For this reason, I probably devote more of my life to unstructured time than most people. Too much unstructured time can be bad, such as if you lack self-control or a firm foundation of good habits. Or, if it goes into the excess of what the spiritual writers warn against: the vice of curiosity. Yet, I think that unstructured time is an essential part of the life well-lived.

What is unstructured time? First, it should be distinguished from boredom or idleness, which are unintentional or thoughtless activity or inactivity. Unstructured time is intentional and thoughtful activity, but totally purposeless. This condition of thoughtful, intentional purposelessness is what really distinguishes unstructured time from other forms of activity and leisure. Unstructured time is thus most closely related to some forms of play exhibited by children.

You make room in your schedule for unstructured time; it is not just a way of filling space in the absence of plans. If someone interrupts your unstructured time with something unimportant, you tell them you are busy being intentionally purposeless.

Unstructured time is acting without any particular consequence in mind, for its own sake. It's a leap of faith. Our time is precious, and must be judiciously guarded. Therefore, to lavish such time on something that may result in nothing of consequence is a kind of gamble.

What are some examples or unstructured time? For one, I think of conversation between friends. Unstructured time is essential to the formation of relationships. When we speak to a friend as a friend, we don't usually arrive with predetermined topics, or if we do, it is merely to discuss them for the joy of discussing them. We don't have any particular goal in mind for the conversation. What we talk about, and how long we talk about it, is up in the air. It may not serve any practical purpose, or it may change our lives, but the results are not at the forefront of our minds. It is time spent for its own sake.

Some other things I love to do in unstructured time:

• Picking up a book and reading any portion of it, without any commitment to read it all or read it again.
• Listening to music.
• Exploring libraries or the woods.
• Going on walks or runs without destinations or goals in mind.
• Taking something apart and putting it back together again.
• Learning new skills, without knowing what use they will have.

One of the great things about unstructured time is that, while it is done without purpose, it often yields unintended results down the road. For example, I find that my unstructured reading enhances my structured reading, of books I'm trying to finish and study closely, because I'm able to make connections I never would have thought of. I would say, in general, that unstructured time enhances your sense of the connectedness of everything. I find that my experiences in unstructured time continuously interact with my purposeful activities in ways I never could have foreseen, and would not have experienced had I operated solely by goals and delineated tasks.