Lately I’ve been feeling a bit more stressed then usual. It just started to seem like my attention was so fragmented over so many goals/projects/needs that I wasn’t being effective at getting anything done. There were times that, even though I still had plenty to do, I couldn’t figure out what I should do next. It always seemed like if I did one thing, it was at the expense of another thing. It’s as if I scheduled myself for 40 hours of work a day, but I only have 24 (17 if you take away sleep).
So, what to do?
I decided to spend a few weeks and really keep track of not only what I was doing, but the things that I wasn’t getting done, the things I wanted to get done, and the things I just wanted to do for fun. It really took about 2 weeks to get it all out of my head and into an spreadsheet.
I basically figured out how many waking hours I have in a month (planning on 7 hours of sleep per night), added up the hours I would spend on any given activity, and subtract it from the waking hours. The first time I did this, I was at -58 hours for the month, meaning I was trying to spend 58 more hours then what I actually had to spend. Obviously, this verified that there was a problem, and there’s no mystery as to why I would be stressed. It also answered the question of why I never have enough time to get everything done!
So while looking at the numbers, I did a few things.
First, I asked myself what things could be cut out, or cut down. For example, I have a lot of hobbies that I want to pursue, but the reality is I don’t have time to pursue all of them. So I decided to pick ONE from the list, and say that 2009 has been dedicated to that particular hobby. This way I can put all of my focus on one hobby and maybe enjoy it and get good at it, instead of being scattered over many activities.
The result? For this year, I decided to finally pursue computer programming, or at least finally figure out if I’m capable of it or not. I’ve wanted to do this for close to 20 years now and this year I’m making a serious stab at it. Ultimately I want to write some programs for the iPhone but I have to learn 2 languages before getting to that – no small feet!
I also really looked at what was important to me, and made some hard decisions. Most importantly, I am allowing myself to be OK with letting certain things go for now. For example, as much as I’ve tried to fit woodworking into my schedule, it comes with a large demand on my time. More then I have now, and more then I see having anytime in the near future. Plus, I feel like in the list of hobbies that I want to pursue it’s not at the top. So the decision is to just realize it’s not going to be part of my life, and to sell off the machines I have in the garage. And I’m OK with it now. No guilt.
In other areas, I’ve decided to put off a hobby or interest just for this year, but I know I’ll come back to it at some point in the future. Some of those examples are Photography classes, learning to play piano, teaching at the local college, and becoming a certified trainer of Final Cut Pro (my tool of choice in my job). Those are all still possible in the future, but for this year – I will not focus on any of them, and be OK with it.
So after looking at it all laid in front of me in rows and columns of numbers, here’s what I figured out.
As for learning computer programming, I decided to spend 1 hour a day Monday through Friday, and read my new programming book (that I’ve already purchased). I’ll go to a local coffee shop on the way to the office everyday and treat it as “Tom University” class time. In a month, I’ll have spent 20 hours, and in a year over 250 hours, or roughly 32 full 8 hour days learning something new. Not too bad. The hey is to act as if it’s really a class that has a set time and duration, so that I do it everyday.
I’ve wanted to read more books too, but never could find the time. So I’ve decided to read 30 minutes every evening, before watching TV. I can read more if I choose, but not less. I can do with less TV.
And I’ve also defined more set hours for working at the office, instead of leaving it open ended. I play to work no more then 11 hours per day from now on, where as before it could be anywhere from 10-15 several times a week. I’m just trying to get used to the reality that there will ALWAYS be more to do, and I can’t expect that I’ll ever stay late and get everything done. It’s just not going to happen, and it’s OK.
Time will tell if this plan works, but what I was doing wasn’t working so trying anything else at all is a step in the right direction. If this doesn’t work, I’ll just have to find something else.
So now the question is, are you spending your time in a way that serves you well? It’s easy to get into the rhythm of just doing the same thing day in and day out, but sometimes it’s good to stop and take a good look at what it is you’re doing with your time. After all, it is the most precious thing we have, and once it’s gone – it’s gone.
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