The Art of Doing Nothing

Chutney and Cheddar Egg Sandwich

Earlier this year, I started saying no. No to promoting food-related gadgets, because I live in a New York small apartment with limited storage. No to promoting food samples, because the pay isn’t great and the contests aren’t worth my time. No to writing reviews for below-average cookbooks, because the pay isn’t great. No to freelance design, because I design full-time during the weekday. No to doing more social media, because it’s time consuming. No to special theme Saturday brunches requiring me to discard the one day a week of sleeping in without an alarm clock. And, no to developing an editorial calendar for this food blog. I’m doing nothing with my extra time, and it feels good to be too selfish.

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Adapting to Less Time

Spicy Tomato Sauce with Shrimp, Chickpea and Roast Asparagus

For the first two to three years of MyLifeRunsOnFood.com, I was partially or fully unemployed. My hours were spent writing cover letters, resumes and recipes. The food blog enabled me to have a routine, stay creative and hopeful. The recipes created during that time period, continue to be my favorite meals.

During that time period, I recall a conversation with several friends about how process food isn’t as fast as preparing a home cook meal. Then there’s a lone voice among us who disagreed with us as she explained, “…for working families… it’s difficult to prepare healthy meals, join a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) or a food co-op…” I was curious about her statement. Despite being unemployed, I wondered if my concept of time management around healthy eating was within the realities of single parents and families working full-time.

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