I'm not sure if this is true of all Type-A personalities or just my Type-A personality, but I have to plan my free time.

Case in point... Saturday was the start of my 24-hours off from parenting. My husband and I agreed that we would each get two this year and I decided to schedule my first one for this weekend. I packed up a suitcase full of snacks, spa supplies, and my laptop and rolled it down the street to a hotel near our home. For 24-hours it's just me, a rewatch of Bridgerton season 2, a long hot bath, and random scrolling of the internet. 

But, I can't just enjoy this indulgence as it happens, I have to plan for it. For my one night away, I made a packing list, schedule, menu, and a spread in my bullet journal. Sure, some of the timing in the schedule is vague and I only listed some activities I'd like to do, but I still planned my entire night off down to which face masks I wanted to use.

I simply can't not plan. (You hear that? It's all my friends and family snickering in recognition.) I find that I enjoy my time more if I have a roadmap for where I'm going. My brain gets itchy if there's not a list or a schedule. I need to be able to cross things off, even on my "unproductive" days. 

Do you plan your free time?

Last week, I asked you to take a poll to see if it was worth sharing when something was paywalled. The answers were split between “I don’t care” and “Yes.” Not a single person said “No.” So, going forward, I will indicate when something may be paywalled.

A few nights ago, I started read The Flatshare by Beth O’Leary. Thanks to my night off from parenting, I am almost halfway through this one already. In my mind, the premise is kind of a stretch, but I love how the author is telling the story. It’s a modern spin on the epistolary novel and I find the whole thing delightful and charming.

• Is there an ideal shower length? [Lifehacker]

• Art on toast. [Colossal]

• Students are disengaged and disappearing even when they're in class. [Chronical of Higher Education - may be paywalled]

• Setting up a kitchen from scratch? Use this list. [Serious Eats]

• Book mobiles have a long history. [Book Riot]

• The pandemic took life lesson learning from little kids. [WaPo - gift link]

• Books. Are they for reading, decorating, or bragging? [The Guardian]

• It's almost like standardized tests only reward people who can afford to learn how to take them... [Higher Ed Dive]

• The origin of fish and chips. [Atlas Obscura]

• Power plants helped save the manatees and now that's a problem. [Planet Money]

• The cycle and far reaching impacts of incivility. [Hidden Brain]

• The income gap even exists in inflation. [The Indicator]

• The active democracy of town meeting. [99% Invisible]

• Self-censorship and preference falsification can lead people and society astray. [Hidden Brain]

• We watched Free Guy and it was ridiculously charming. Ryan Reynolds stars and channels Will Ferrell's enthusiasm in Elf against the backdrop of a story that combines The Lego Movie and Ready Player One. I know a lot of the references went over my head because I am not a gamer, but I picked up on a few things. This one we may be watching again to get all the goodness. Let the credits roll. The cameos are fantastic. [HBO]

• We must have been in a Ryan Reynolds mood this week because we also watched The Adam Project. If you can just ignore the conundrums, broken science, and plot holes that always come with time travel flicks, it's a good movie. The cast is stacked. Reynolds seems to play the same variation of character in every film, but it works. [Netflix]

• Because cat. [@alex_wohlrab]

• I think cold pasta is a great lunch meal prep option. This week, I made spinach and orzo salad with balsamic dressing. Quick and easy to throw together, but next time I'll wait to toss in the dressing. I did it all at once and it soaked into the pasta mellowing the flavor. [Budget Bytes]

• One thing our kiddo is generally guaranteed to eat is sausage. I made slow cooker sausages with peppers and onions. It was a nice option for dinner, but I'm not sure I will make it again. The brats lacked the snap that comes with grilling or pan searing. And, weirdly, the green peppers came out pretty bitter. Then again, I do love any recipe that lets me cook with whole grain mustard. [The Kitchn]

I generally try to avoid recommending specific physical products in this spot, but I am making an exception for this week. I want to shout out our new robot vacuum by Eufy. I never thought I would get a robot vacuum but, I must confess, I fell for the good recommendation from Young House Love. Since we have a toddler, we always have crumbs about. Also, my hair likes to leave tumbleweeds. I loved the idea of having a little vacuum take care of daily maintenance cleaning. So far, it's been great! It sucks up a lot of dust and hair. Plus, it's just plain fun to watch while drinking a cup of coffee. We want our kiddo to name it, but she's not decided yet. Right now we just cheer on "little guy" and "buddy" as it sweeps up our space.

After my long weekend and parenting night off, I am read to tackle a week that includes a lot of hiring interviews and a planned daycare closure.