My big attempted reset is that I want to use my time more effectively and memorably. This past year I did not have big blocks of time to work or do what I wanted. (That feels like the understatement of the year!) Now I want to get more clarity on what I want to do work-wise and to use my time well. Even though I like structure, I have not been very structured this past year because things kept constantly changing and I felt like I was always on call.
To work on this, I am first going to track my time and see how I am currently using it. I want to do this while the boys are still in school as preparation for next fall. I realize the summer is going to be a whole different beast. I want to get clearer on my goals and priorities and then block off and dedicate time for these activities to make progress. I want to create the structure to help MAKE things happen. Included in the making things happen, is some “me time” where I freely get to decide what I want to do. Some time for fun and play and quality time with people I love.
I am trying to track my time with Laura Vanderkam’s 168 hour chart. I have only been able to track about half of my days the couple of weeks. It feels challenging. More challenging than I expected. I have a definite schedule for my mornings but I have noticed I literally “lose” time just sitting in front of my computer doing “vague, random stuff”. Some is email, some is online shopping, some is real financial planning work but I know I am not efficient and using this time as well as I could. I am not sure what the fix is for this yet, but I am noticing it and trying to track my time is making me notice it more.
Vanderkam is an expert on time management. I have enjoyed what she writes and recommend her books. Based on her data, most people think they work more hours than they really do. I honestly have no idea how many hours I work. This is not a good thing. I am and have always been more about getting the job done rather than the hours worked, yet I know I don’t want to feel overwhelmed. It is important to me not to be working too many hours each week because I want to prioritize other people and things in my life right now.
Even within my work, I could be tracking the various projects or topics I am spending my time on. Work is a general category. I would like to know how long I spend on this article each week. How long on work emails? How long on different work projects, clients, etc.? Some professions may track this but I didn’t like when I had to and have never done it since. As I am typing this, I am realizing that it makes sense for me to track in detail how I spend my work time. Sigh.
I have marked off certain “me time” in my calendar and have quickly learned I want to make definite plans for at least 50% of this “me time” so it is not just frittered away and lost.
I relate tracking time to tracking money and what you eat in order to see the truth of what we are doing. On all three of these categories it is easy to mindlessly lose or not realize what I am actually doing. If you are struggling in any of these areas, detailed tracking of what you are doing can teach you something. You don’t need to track forever. With money, I usually recommend tracking for a month but even a couple of weeks can show you important information.
For me, my time feels the most precious and so I am doing this experiment to see what I can learn to try to make it better going forward.
I am just starting this effort and will let you know what I learn and how it goes.
As always, I welcome any comments and suggestions.
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