Too many things I want to do and learn

[El Gringo]

Do other people struggle with being overwhelmed with how many things they want to pursue, learn, and experience?

For example, I want to improve my Spanish, continue learning French, learn computer programming, I want to go back to school to study at least four different topics, I want to get better at salsa dancing, I want to learn skills with my hands, I have an insatiable desire to travel the world, my reading list grows exponentially (I already have more books than I will probably ever read).  Anybody else relate?

Here's an interesting NPR article about that similar feeling: http://www.npr.org/blogs/monkeysee/2011/04/21/135508305/the-sad-beautiful-fact-that-were-all-going-to-miss-almost-everything

I'd be interested to hear other people's responses.

[LibrarIan]

Yes, I know exactly what you're talking about. This feeling is exacerbated due to the fact that I'm in graduate school (I finish in 3 weeks!!!). What I have decided to do is embrace minimalism to focus on what I really want to do. I've sold off a lot of my stuff to start with. I've also "locked" my to-read, to-watch, etc. lists. I am going to take all the books, movies, games and albums in my place that I have never started or finished, finish them and then probably get rid of them.

As far as things I want to learn goes, I'm going to try to take them one at a time. I want to get a certification, so I'll focus only on that until it's done. I want to become fluent in Spanish, so that'll have its turn. It might not always work out that way, but it's worth a try.

[Trirod]

Yes!  Exactly that - which is the main reason I want to retire early, so I can have more time to do some of these things, even though I know I will never check them all off my list.  For every one thing I get off my "To Do" list I seem to add two or three more.

In some ways though I have learned to just appreciate where I am and what I have right now.  Sometimes it's OK just to sit back and surf the net for an hour even with all these things that I really want to get done, that might be seen as more "productive".  I think the key to a happy life (which we all want, right?) is finding the balance among all our competing demands - much easier said than done!

[golden1]

Absolutely.  I am one of the most curious people I know.  I wish I had more time so I could learn more, read more books, learn more skills. 

I feel like I know hardly anything at age 41.  It makes me sad to think about the knowledge and wonders I am going miss in the future. 

[basd]

Yes, I can definitely relate to this.. My bucket list is growing larger and larger, much faster than the rate I'm able to tick things off at the moment.

Mostly travel, sports and knowledge-related stuff. It gives me something (or things) to work towards though. I need that.

[Nancy]

Yes, you have described me exactly. I've planned out my course loads for five phantom degrees and have at least that many careers I want to try, while traveling fulltime and simultaneously establishing and living on a small homestead. I don't get overwhelmed because I just pick one at a time and go for it. I know I won't get to them all, which is fine with me. I'm so happy with my life as it is. All the aspirations are just fun adventures. 

[ShortInSeattle]

Yes! The way I deal with it is to remind myself that I am allowed to play on all the toys in the playground, I just can't play with them all at once. Pick something. Play. Then pick something else. :)

Otherwise you're that odd kid stuck in the middle of the playground, mouth agape, paralyzed with indecision. :)

[sleepyguy]

For sure, for those with kids it's even much more difficult because of the time constraints.  I find myself staying up WAY too late to get in more things to do.  It's all fun though!  Can't wait to be FIRE or at least part-time FIRE :)

[JPinDC]

Do other people struggle with being overwhelmed with how many things they want to pursue, learn, and experience?

Yes. So much yes.

I find it tough to balance all those things I want to do (very similarly to you they involve travel, rekindling that high school Spanish, finishing everything on my bookshelf, etc.) with the many distractions of friends/things to do in DC and the many distractions of the Internet (Buzzfeed, why are you so funny?). I don't have any solutions for you, but you're definitely not alone.

I really liked Johnny Moneyseed's recent post about taking a few minutes at the end of every day to reflect on the progress you've made towards your goals. Here: http://www.johnnymoneyseed.com/lifehacking/drive-your-life-forward/

[Jennifer in Ottawa]

This describes me to a T.  I rarely finish things because something else bright and shiny catches my eye. 

My advice?  Take exceptional care of your health.  All of us here are going to need to live as long as we possible can so that we can nibble on everything that the buffet of life has to offer.

I personally am looking forward to being a senior citizen so I can attend any University classes I wish and pay next to nothing to do so.  Then it will be Latin courses, Art History, English Lit, 2nd year Pych, all those cool classes I want to take.

I'm trying to do all the physical stuff now while I can, but in the end I don't sweat what I don't get around to.  I've come to grips with the fact that I'll never be on the Canadian Women's Olypmic Gymnastic team since I'm not a ten year old girl, and I'll likely never seen Earth from orbit. 

But hey, that's ok.  There are a lot of other things to do, and every day on this side of the grass is a day to sample some of them.

[RetiredAt63]

Yes, I agree with ...oh, a butterfly - look!


Actually, the best decluttering advice I ever saw was to declutter your fantasy selves.  Will I ever homestead now?  no.  So why keep the related things?  Will I get more involved with fibre crafts? yes - then keep those tools.  Very freeing, although sad in a way, acknowledging the things we will never do.
And also know that things change - I love living in the country, but I know there will come a time when I will be closer to a city, less driving, access to courses like Jennifer describes, etc.

This describes me to a T.  I rarely finish things because something else bright and shiny catches my eye. 

My advice?  Take exceptional care of your health.  All of us here are going to need to live as long as we possible can so that we can nibble on everything that the buffet of life has to offer.

I personally am looking forward to being a senior citizen so I can attend any University classes I wish and pay next to nothing to do so.  Then it will be Latin courses, Art History, English Lit, 2nd year Pych, all those cool classes I want to take.

I'm trying to do all the physical stuff now while I can, but in the end I don't sweat what I don't get around to.  I've come to grips with the fact that I'll never be on the Canadian Women's Olypmic Gymnastic team since I'm not a ten year old girl, and I'll likely never seen Earth from orbit. 

But hey, that's ok.  There are a lot of other things to do, and every day on this side of the grass is a day to sample some of them.

[brewer12345]

I have the same problem, although I tend to stick with my interests for quite a while at a time.  I decided to limit how many new things I take up in any given year in order to do them justice, and so far this year I may have bit off more than I can chew.  My experiment with home-tanning some small furs sort of got stuck about halfway to completion and I need to see the first batch through before starting up the next interest.

[Ian]

I share your basic outlook, but I'm not overwhelmed by it. Having only a few things left to do would make me feel tired and old - seeing a world full of possibilities is energizing.

[Snow White]

This topic is absolutely on target for me. This morning I wrote in my journal about just this issue as I have always been plagued by too many interests. I love learning new things and never met a craft project that I didn't want to attempt.  I RE two months ago though and now have that glorious abundance of time and an almost paralyzingly number of interests. 

I started listing everything I currently do or would like to do and analyzed them with respect to sustained interest level, cost to participate, physical space required (large weaving loom is out) and real world parameters such as the fact that hubby refuses to move to the country with me to I can grow veggies and raise chickens (fantasyland anyway)!  It helped in that I eliminated a few things that I had been considering taking classes in or studying and I prioritized other interests.  The devils advocate side of me argues that I should not limit myself and maybe something I am unaware of now will be a future passion. 

What a lovely problem to have!

[GrayGhost]

I hear you loud and clear. I have a few hobbies that I dedicate a lot of my time to. At the same time, I'm learning a few languages, all the while racing to learn all I can about real estate and other investing.

As far as my career goes, I have limited myself to three or four major interests, and I think it's possible to do some interesting stuff in each of them within ten or twenty years.

After that, then I'd like to live a relatively minimalist lifestyle for a while, learning about hunting, fishing, living off the land and that sort of stuff.

This is the plan, at least in theory. Who knows how my interests will change as I get older, and inescapable is the fact that I almost completely neglect the cultural and romantic parts of the universe. I just don't have much time for it.