How do regular people get everything done that’s supposed to get done? I can’t seem to find time to check my e-mail, let alone respond or write a post to my blog. I don’t think I’m wasting a lot of time with frivolous things, but I can barely stay on top of paying the bills. How do people do this with families and little league? Doesn’t anyone sleep anymore?
When I was a teenager my dad tried to help me with my time management. He suggested that I keep track of what I do every day and then make a schedule for myself in 15 minute increments. Now that I am a fan of doing something for 15 minutes, it seems so wild that I absolutely hated the idea when my father presented something like it to me, but I was just 16 and still hadn’t figured out yet that my parents did know something after all. I’m sure he saw that I watched a lot of t.v. and videos, spent time on the phone and that I really wasn’t doing much of anything worthwhile. Now here I am years later trying to figure out when I can put together 15 minutes in a row to call my sister to say hello.
I don’t mind the responsibility of being an adult and I like the freedom it affords. I’m just not sure how I’m supposed to do all the things I’m supposed to do.
Here’s a typical Wednesday:
Sleep - 8 hours
Work - 8 hours
Workout - 1.5 hours
Cook & Eat - 2 hours
Give our cat shots twice a day - .5 hour
Ablutions and getting ready - .75 hour
Drive - .5 hour
Church - 2.5 hours
. . .which leaves me .5 hour of breathing room to spread throughout the day.
Sure, I’m not at church every night, but there’s usually something that takes up a big hunk of the evening. When do I pay the bills? When do I send my digital pictures off to York to get prints? When do I do laundry? When do I watch any of the 60 hours of recorded shows on our DVR?
Do I just have too much stuff in my life to keep track of? Will getting rid of the clutter, both literally and figuratively, help me stay sane? When do I make time to de-clutter? Perhaps I’m supposed to define what’s really important to me, find time for those people and things and just cut out the rest.
This seems ironic to me because I spent my twenties hanging out with friends, working some, seeing movies, and doing a lot of talking all to figure out who I am. Now that I believe I have an inkling about who I am and I’m good with it, I don’t seem to have the time to enjoy it. I guess this will be life’s struggle for as long as I’m breathing.
On that note, perhaps the laundry can wait, and I should just sit down and e-mail a friend or two. I think I have 10 minutes before Eldar needs her shot.