Sometimes, I want to do frivolous things. When I say frivolous, let me define: sleep for an extra five minutes, paint my nails, and read a chapter of a book. So for this challenge, I gave myself permission to do one frivolous thing a day. (Which means sometimes I did five).


Saturday, September 8- Took four hours out of my day to bake a cake and make buttercream icing from scratch. Used edible pearl sprinkles.

Sunday, September 9- Online shopping. It was good.

Monday, September 10- Between two classes, took an hour off to drink hot tea with a friend. There were a million things we could have been doing. But talking is fun.

Tuesday, September 11- Wore my favorite dangly earrings. Didn’t check to see if they matched my outfit.

Wednesday, September 12- Gave myself the day off from fixing my hair. Recalled Sylvia Plath’s quote from The Bell Jar, when she stops washing her hair: “It made me tired just to think of it. I wanted to do everything once and for all and be through with it.”

Thursday, September 13- Slept in for half an hour. The world was a better place because of it.

Friday, September 14- Bought Zadie Smith’s new book NW. I plan to read a few chapters every day until I (very slowly) get through it.

Saturday, September 15- Bought bigger bookshelves.


I realized, through this task, that my version of frivolity involves giving myself the excuse to "waste" time. I didn't get as much done this week as I'd hoped, but I did remember to give myself breaks every now and then--which is something that I usually need to force myself to do. Another plus is: I got a really great pair of shoes.