I mostly don’t. I didn’t end up with enough time to read theory by maintaining an excellent social life. That’s not to say that I don’t have one, but the friends I have left have to be ok with communist ranting on the sesh. Those type of friends are rare.
If you find yourself struggling to maintain revolutionary activity while having a normal life, just remember it’s by design. It’s not meant to be easy changing the world for the better.
It’s pretty hard. I was in the PSL for a couple of years while working full time and on the weekend my wife would resent me not being at home to spend time with her. They expected a lot of time and if couldn’t do it all then you wouldn’t be invited to join committees or lead groups. So it kinda sucked but at the same time the work was rewarding and you felt like you were actually doing something to bring upon revolution.
Honestly, I don’t have much of a social life at the moment. I moved out of the city for my work, and the only person I really know is my partner who moved with me.
Unfortunately, moving out of the city also mostly disconnected me from the party. I have made some attempts to reach out to anyone in my new area, but I haven’t found much party activity as of yet.
So at the moment, it’s my day-job (Which is more of a 9-9 rather than 9-5) and sleep. I keep reading theory of course, but as of right now I haven’t found much local party to engage with. Doesn’t mean it isn’t there, so I will keep looking.
National organiser for a communist ran socialist party here. The fact of the matter is that I don’t. The party comes first. Always.
In my experience, the lines between social life and party blurred once I crossed a certain threshold of commitment and time invested; party socials become your down time and your fellow party members become your closest friends. You might even meet your life partner in the party as several of my comrades have. Some have even started families together.
For context, my position with the party is now effectively my full time work. I have no fixed hours, but I’m effectively on call 24/7 and can be called on to travel across the country at a moment’s notice for party work. So long as I deliver on my responsibilities I’m given complete flexibility in how I carry out my work. In that regard, I’ve never been more free in my entire life. However, this does mean that when times are hectic I simply cannot stop working until all my tasks are complete, which has sometimes meant taking on 12-14 hour work days.
