This week I had two days off, but I didn’t spend all of my time on the couch. When I wasn’t cleaning my house or mowing the yard, I was multi-tasking. Truth be told, I don’t really understand the concept of “idle time.” There are far too many things to do in this fascinating world for me to waste time. I thought this was just part of my nature, but now I’m not so sure.

I spent some time with my siblings earlier this week, and my mom used one of her favorite phrases to scold my 14-year-old brother. Elijah was just sitting around in a chair, doing nothing in particular as youth are often prone to do. My mom finally said, “Don’t just sit around. DO something. Remember, idle time is the Devil’s workshop.”

I laughed when I heard her say this phrase, because I had heard it many times before. Some people replace “idle time” with “idle mind” or “idle hands.” Ultimately I think each saying has the same meaning: nothing good can come of doing nothing.

I began to think about the example my mom set for me as I was growing up. The woman never wasted time. She wasn’t necessarily the type who was continuously cleaning or cooking, but she did spend her time learning, organizing, or planning new projects. If we sat down to watch a movie at night, she was balancing her checkbook and cleaning out her purse. If she was counseling a friend over the phone, she was also organizing her computer desk or planting flowers outside. Time was not wasted.

But my mom did know how to enjoy herself. She would spend time reading poems to us outdoors on beautiful spring days, she would read good books. At least her ways to relax had a purpose. Even now that my mom has a Facebook account, she steers away from little time wasters like Farmville. She spends her time chatting with old friends or catching up with relatives.

Now that I think about it, I’m turning into my mom, and I’m totally OK with that. In college I always had several things going at once. When my favorite television show was on, I also spent that time to catch up with friends online or browse our library catalog for research articles. With too much to do and too little time, I needed to make the most of my hours.

Without my mom, I might have turned out like a lot of adults I know who spend hours in front of the tube or reading useless gossip columns online that don’t enrich the mind in any way. I hope my mom, by her example, has a good influence on my younger siblings as well. I hope they spend time reading books to expand their vocabulary and imagination instead of watching the same Disney Channel show for the thousandth time. I hope that instead of sitting around in chairs they go outside to ride their bikes or play baseball with the neighborhood kids, improving their bodies all the while.

Sitting around doing nothing is not going to help anybody. It will just lead to lethargy and allow the mind to wander down paths that it should avoid. I just hope that more parents start to encourage their kids to get active throughout the year. “I’m bored” should quickly be answered with “Great, then I can think of several things for you to do.”

I don’t know if the Devil really has a workshop, but if he does, then he probably has more than enough idle minds to work with. I think I’ll steer clear.

Meghann Evans is a staff reporter with The Mount Airy News. She can be reached at mevans@mtairynews.com or at 719-1952.