Haven’t I Written About This Before?
A Room of My Own
The writer realizes she spends too much time organizing files, notes, and reading records, especially when stressed. These systems distract her from what she values, like writing, exercise, cooking, and reading for pleasure. She wants to simplify, collect less, and spend more time creating and living.
22 Oct 2026
I’ve been feeling quite overwhelmed lately, mostly with work, but also with life in general. I haven’t been eating particularly well, I’ve felt like I’m gaining weight, and I know I need to get back to looking after myself properly.
So what did I do?
I started reorganising my ebook collection.
And I kept on doing this despit the fact that I’m fully aware that whenever I want a book, I simply search my Dropbox and send it to my Kindle. It takes hardly any time. I don’t need to reorganise thousands of files to make that happen.
Yet there I was, spending hours on something that served absolutely no purpose.
The thing is, I find this kind of work relaxing. It’s repetitive, it doesn’t require much thinking, and it gives me something to focus on when I’m feeling stressed or overwhelmed. I can lose myself in it for hours. Maybe it’s like knitting or crocheting but with nothing to really show for it.