Time Management

Giving Tree by Damien Spencer

Over the years I have been plagued with time management.  The struggle has not only been how do I organize my life, but also how do I execute my day. One thing I am excellent in doing is making lists and setting goals.  I can spend all day creating list of lists that I have to do.  The issue is once I start writing down all my goals and then trying to schedule a typical day out I fall short of hours, will be required to hurt peoples feelings but telling them I can not schedule them into my day, and I realize if I don’t run a tight ship there is no way it could happen.  Well it never happens.  I can schedule my day out and make it the most efficient time management program in the world but actually waking up in the morning and following it.  Yeah right.

I wake up tell myself that I am already I am going to follow my schedule to the “T” and I going to get…damn it. The phone is ringing, I didn’t schedule that in, do I answer it?  Okay now that I answered the phone I am only 10 minutes behind.  There will be no more distractions. Oh no my girlfriends is asking me to help here with her day, do I tell her to get stuffed or just help her?  Well I guess telling her to get stuffed was a bad idea, now I am hour behind cause we got in a argument and I ended up helping her anyways.  Now she is out the door and off to work i can get back to….damn phone again?!?!?!? Okay now I am only 1.5 hours behind and have 2 others things I have to do today!  Guess I can drop some stuff from my schedule and make it up later that will give me more….REALLY THE PHONE AGAIN?!?!?!?!? Okay I am 2 hours in and have an additional 5 things to do today I didn’t expect and I can’t think straight cause I need to eat.  OMG, does this phone ever stop ringing? Okay so my GF needs me to do some stuff for her today I am about 2.5 hours behind and I need to start cooking so I can eat soon.  Dang the kitchen is a mess I better clean it up first.

Two hours later I did the dishes, cleaned up, and answered the phone 2 more times.  Now I can start cooking so I can eat and finish my tight schedule I have already had to reschedule 2 times.  What am I doing?  I don’t have time to get my schedule done I 5 unexpected things that came up and I am 4 hours behind.  I will just start my new life tomorrow, you know the new life where I can complete all the things I want and need to get done in a day. Hold on it is the phone again.  Never mind it will have to wait a couple days an emergency came up at my job and I don’t know how long it will take me to fix it.  Well I did 2 of the 50 things on my list, oh wait I had to add 5 more to it so I did -3 things on my list today.  I am exhausted and I fell backwards on my list.  How is Time Management suppose to work.

Time Management is not for me. Maybe I should live in the moment instead.  Of coarse that would require me to tell everyone to get stuffed.

Today’s list of things to do that will never get done:

Housework

Clean Kitchen

• Do dishes, after every meal also
• Clean surfaces (counters, stove, etc.)
• Sweep Floor
• Take out Trash and Compost (this includes maintaining)

Clean dinning room

• clean off table (it is where everything gets dumped when people enter the door)
• Sweep floors

Clean Livingroom

• Pick up
• Sweep Floors
• Water Plants

Cook Meals

• Breakfast
• Snacks
• Lunch
• Dinner

Work

Go to Part time Job #1

• Try to find leaks (impossible)
• Do daily task list at work (just as long as this list)
• communicate with everyone what I am doing (can be 1 hour to 2 hours of e-mails and phone calls)

Go to part time job # 2

• See part time job #1 but only once a week instead of 5 times a week and a much shorter to do list

Run Business

• Make phone calls
• Have meetings
• Work on websites, ads, menus, for clients (always running behind schedule)
• Fix computers
• Work on my own websites and products (usually never get this far)
• Take pictures
• Frame pictures
• Post pictures for sale
• Advertise

Work on Hobbies

• Blog on one of 3 blog sites
• Read
• Write books, screenplays, etc.
• Paint
• Design Video Game

Health

• workout
• work on meal plan
• take shower
• Get ready for day and get ready for bed

This is just a sample list – pretty much the same as real list but real list also includes stuff that i have currently given up on.  For example:

• Work on car and truck
• Work on yard
• Plant a garden
• Clean storage
• Work on House
  • put down floors in every room
    • wood
    • tile
    • stone
  • Plumb in bathtub
  • Finish addition to the front of the house so we can have a front door
  • replace fireplace
  • Get firewood so I can have heat
• Work on long list of stuff to do for other people
  • Girlfriend’s list
  • Girlfriend’s Mother’s list
  • Dad’s List
  • Neighbor’s lists

I know I am missing a bunch more.  Oh like the other 4 rooms and closets that need to be cleaned in the house.  Spending time watching Movies with girl friend, putting girlfriend to bed, and rubbing girl friend down each night.  I forgot the pet’s list too which includes feeding, playing with, and constant petting.  How many hours are in a day?  Notice that sleep wasn’t on my list. =)