So I feel like I’m actually not terrible at time management – for the most part, I tend to get what I want done on time. (Especially the important things, like watching Parks & Recreation, or drinking heavily.)
Still, most days, even highly productive ones, I often think about the other things I could have accomplished, the tasks that make me say to myself “man, I wish I had done that today.”
So I made a list.
Obviously, the list would change from day to day, as a variety of tasks can be added or subtracted (for example, I don’t always work on the weekends, and when I do, it’s not as long, usually). But I wanted a baseline, a generic template to start from, just to see for myself what I need to do to accomplish everything I want to:
So let’s see how I did:
– Well, sleep, that’s obvious. 6 hours is about right for me these days, without a degradation in performance as a human. 18 hours left to schedule!
– 10 hours for work. That’s probably about appropriate for the amount of time I tend to spend in the office. Again, reasonable. Although now I’ve got 8 precious hours to spend.
– 4 hours for writing. Since that’s how I would like to eventually make money, then yes, it seems very important that I spend a reasonable amount of time writing every day. 4 hours is a good amount, in an ideal world. Although now I’ve only got 4 hours left.
– 2 hours to watch TV. This is actually way too low a number, given how many TV shows I watch. But it’s enough to get in the important shows, the ones that I have to watch the night they air, usually. 2 hours left!
– 1 hour for exercise. This is often something that ends up overlooked, but I really want to get better at it. 1 hour left…
– 1 hour to relax. Meaning I’m doing nothing in particular. This may seem like something that shouldn’t be on here, but it’s important to remember that studies have shown that downtime is important for the human brain when it comes to learning. So that should be in there.
Okay, well that’s my 24… oh wait.
– 1 hour to stare at wall and evaluate life. Self-reflection is super important. Non-negotiable.
– 2 hours of “social time” – seeing friends, grabbing a drink, talking on the phone, etc. I live alone, so finding outlets for human contact is something that needs to be scheduled. I obviously don’t go out every night, but this is also very important to staying sane. I’m not going to say it’s non-negotiable, but it can’t be zero.
– Oh, 2 hours for life tasks. Showering, cooking, eating, etc. To be perfectly honest, I’d probably forget some of this stuff if I didn’t have it listed.
– 1 hour to study Japanese. One of my great shames is that I don’t speak/comprehend Japanese very well (I’m probably at the level of a small child), which is especially troubling considering I have a number of relatives in Japan and my mother was raised there. I can and should, however, improve that.
So that puts me at 30 hours a day. I need 30 hours a day to accomplish everything I want.
Certainly, some of this can be doubled-up (watch tv and exercise, for example, or social time and showering), but it’s clear to me now that sacrifices are going to have to be made.
– Well, I probably can’t study japanese for an hour every day. Sorry, ancestors.
– Perhaps greater efficiency can be found in the life tasks section. All I have to do is figure out a way to cook and/or eat while doing other things.
– Social Time can be combined with Stare At Wall And Evaluate Life, although I’d imagine that will also lead to a reduction in friends willing to engage in Social Time. Actually, that’s not a bad idea.
Well, for a first draft, this isn’t bad. I think with some creativity, I can make this work.
Oh.
Except, of course, that I live in Los Angeles, which means I forgot the following:
TRANSIT VIA CAR – ???
Hmm.
How important is pursuing my dreams, right?
