Time dribbles away from me. I couldn't seem to get much of anything done. Living in a fugue of disappointment in myself. I decided to make some changes. Small. How on earth do I manage time more successfully and not feel I had "wasted" it even though I'd have 2,000 words written or a piece of knitting completed or a book read. I couldn't seem to get a handle on it at all, to feel satisfied instead of this miasma of dissatisfaction and a sense of failure and disorganization.
And in the past few days, after a few Tao meditations the answer came.
What I have found successful in the distant past and subsequently abandoned was the timer system.
So what I've been doing is timing my activities, or I should say adding a timer to my days. For instance in the mornings after meditation and reflection and gratitude, I read for 30 minutes. Then I knit for an hour (a great way of thinking also). Then I do an hour of dreaded housework and I find it's not shirked anymore. I can get a lot done in an hour of housework in my apartment, putting away laundry, bagging up the detritus that Grandgirl left behind for her mother, doing the morning dishes, sorting out clothes for this weekend as I'm away overnight for part of it, tidying up the bathroom - I had not only 2 staying here for nearly 2 weeks but 3 staying here last weekend: you can't imagine the havoc this creates in a hermit's life! Then I sorted all the lovely haphazard cards and notes I've received this year and displayed them nicely. You catch the drift.
My free creative time is now so I blog and then am going to design a shawlette for my sister as my next project.
For the first time in ages I feel I'm on top of my time and my enjoyment level of my life has risen dramatically.
I highly recommend it to others who tend to fritter and fooster as I did and have this sense of unease and failure.
I may need reminders of this post.
I don’t use a timer but I do have a daily plan. It varies daily but I like to have a plan and know what I’m going to be doing. It is so easy for me to just wander through the day and then wonder where the day went.
ReplyDeleteYou are much more organised than I Florence. I love how you also plan a month's meals. I need a leaf out of your book.
DeleteBut I am pleased with how the last few days went. And I'm getting a more realistic view of how long things take.
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I too find that if I don't manage my time consciously, it slips past and leaves me feeling behind. My recent work has given me a lot of good tips (I've been researching time management to write tips for public school student planners). Now just to make use of them! I easily slip back to my old lackadaisical ways. -Kate
ReplyDeleteIt's very easy to slip and fall back Kate. I find 1 hour segments of "must dos to feel happy" are so important to me like keeping the place fairly orderly. I'll never be perfect. If this doesn't work I'll try 1/2 hour segments.
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I've been thinking about a plan like this! To act as though I were at work, or in school, with each hour scheduled for one of the things I like to do regularly. Since you have had such success it may be time to do more than 'think' about it!
ReplyDeleteI find that an unstructured day is poor time management for me as I'm the type to look at an old photo album and next thing 4 hours has passed lollygagging. I need to manage a serious acreage of old photos here so I will allocate an hour a day to the project and probably trash a lot as meaningless.
DeleteI find the end of the day has me feeling accomplished when I do this.
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This is really a post script comment to your piece on older people not embracing change. I’m in a Cavan shop, now, looking at the really wonderful home baked breads, some with brand new ingredients. Warm from the oven. I’ve just commented on how many new breads we have, to an elderly man beside me ( well, my age! ) “Yerra, why would I need new bread?” he replies, a large white wrapped sliced pan under his arm!
ReplyDeleteThere's the problem right there and you know he carries it into other conversations.
DeleteIt crossed my mind when a really good friend, a bit younger than I, mentioned he took a 250k road trip with his grandson and not a word was exchanged while the grandson had ear buds in.
I was almost afraid to say to him why don't you ask Grandson to share his music with you? for fear he would answer with one of those pshaws, know what I mean?
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I can see the value in your regime WWW - I'm not organised enough to emulate it though.
ReplyDeleteI do use a version of the 'timing' device to get me to do stuff I don't want to do. For instance, when I don't feel like cleaning the floors, I tell myself, "It'll take less than 30 minutes - get on with it!". When I dreaded surgery, or medical procedures I told myself: "it's just 45 minutes (or whatever)- it'll be all over before you know it!"
You are still successful in your time management T, there are obv. different tricks to it and you always sound so organized to me with your vast range of blog topics.
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This would work for me...Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad, even 30 minute chunks are good. Just to feel satisfied at the end of the day. I do need the structure.
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Beautiful photo!
ReplyDeleteThanks E, she is a delight in every way.
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I am blessed in that I have a set routine that varies only on those few holidays following which the daily newspapers do not come. When that happens my morning reading and solving crossword puzzles gets disturbed but, I simply catch up with reading. Since I don't have any housework to do, I can stretch or shorten any activity to suit other pursuits like going out to meet friends or to entertain visitors.
ReplyDeleteAh no housework, how fortunate. But I know you are flexible too Ramana in that you prioritize relationships.
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I suppose as long as I'm working, I don't need to worry about scheduling my time.
ReplyDeleteThis post resonated with me, as did your post about Facebook, when I first read it and I have been more conscious of my time management since. I have adapted some of your ideas and find I feel more accomplished/satisfied at the end of the day. Thank you!
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