Uh, yeah.

It’s all about the quantity of downtime you get.

We all need a break here and there. That moment of respite to reflect – and the margin to breathe on our own for a second.

My favorite time for this (if i can ever find it) is at home with a quiet house. I watch too much TV and stay up too late reading. I go all day without speaking to another soul and I only leave to get take-out.

I find cross-country road trips cathartic too, but I have not been on one of those in years.

During the hum of everyday life, a break might be as simple as listening to music at the gym or stopping and eating breakfast alone.

But there are diminishing returns here.

I mean, what do you do with all the self-centered time in the world?

After a certain point, your a hedonist.

I don’t know myself as well as I used to, says a middle-aged friend raising two young children. But he does know. He just isn’t thinking about it as much anymore.

-Sarah Manguso, 300 Arguments (Amazon)