I make plans to be productive just about every weekend. Somehow, I never seem to accomplish much on
my To Do List. The problem is not only
lack of motivation (although that definitely plays a part, see the 7/1/2015
blog), but that the day ends before I am ready for it to end. Time seems to slip away from me and I end up
in the evening hours with no idea what I did with all the time that passed
since I got up that morning. So I
examined my life, and I have come up with four things that suck a lot of time
out of my day.
The number one thing that steals my time is the internet. I get on with the intention to check my
email, and before I know it hours have past.
Email itself does not actually take that long to read, unless I have a
Buzzfeed Books newsletter in there (those have lots of links to click). But when I am done with the email, I do not
get off the computer. Instead, I go to
Facebook where I check for actual messages to me, but end up staying to scroll
through the newsfeed. I keep unfollowing
people that I really do not need to see their daily updates, but it seems like
Facebook keeps adding what kind of things I see in my newsfeed so it never gets
any shorter. Then, I cannot help but
click on all the quizzes. I know these
are not real and they give laughable results, but somehow that is part of the
addiction. Apparently, I really do need
to know which Avenger I would be (I must have hidden anger issues because I
keep getting The Hulk). From there, I go
to Youtube where one ten minute video turns into several ten to twenty minute
videos. Finally, I stop at the msn
homepage to read multiple news stories, mostly in the Money and Lifestyle
sections. None of it is that important,
but somehow I cannot stop consuming more unnecessary internet information.
The second thing that steals my time is other people. I swear my family has a sixth sense to know
when I am busy and do not really want to talk to them. I do screen my phone calls, but often I
answer even if I do not really feel like it.
Part of this is guilt because I live so far away from my family, and part
of it is fear that something is wrong at home, especially if it is my sister
calling. We are all talkers, so any
phone call lasts for at least an hour while we exchange all the news that
happened since the last time we talked, even if it was only a few days ago. In addition to my family in PA, my husband
and stepson waste a lot of my time. I know
spending time with the family is part of having one, but I am not complaining about
the time that is spent doing something together. I can plan around making and eating dinner
together, or watching a movie together.
It is more the minutes that fly by because one of them has decided to talk
to me about something I am not interested in hearing. My husband is forever cornering me to talk
about his future plans (that will never happen) or trying to lure me into
political debates because he enjoys them.
My stepson talks non-stop whenever anyone is around. He talks about his friends at school, he
describes all the episodes of whatever TV shows he enjoys, and he asks more
questions than I know how to answer.
Maybe I should be more assertive about saying I do not have time to talk
right now, but I just feel so guilty when they seem so disappointed at the
shutdown.
Sleeping seems to take up a lot of my time on the
weekends. I have the intention to keep
to a similar schedule as on the weekdays, but I usually end up sleeping later
and taking naps more often than not. I
am always so worn out on the weekends that I have a hard time getting up in the
mornings. On the weekdays, I drag myself
out of bed before six because otherwise I will not make it to work on
time. On the weekends, my intention is
to get up around seven, but it often ends up being eight or sometimes even nine
before I can get myself started for the day.
Then, I have to take a nap mid-afternoon. I will go upstairs thinking to close my eyes
for twenty minutes, but that turns into two hours on a regular basis. Even if I set my alarm, I just end up resetting
it to get more sleep. I must need the
sleep though because I am still ready for bed at my normal ten o’clock bedtime.
Finally, I underestimate how long it takes me to do things. Even when I am productive on my weekends, I tend
not to do everything on my To Do List because I just cannot make it through all
the items. I know how long it takes me
to do routine tasks. It takes
approximately half an hour to wash the dishes, fifteen minutes to fold a basket
of clothes, five minutes to separate a bag of snacks into smaller baggies for
lunches, etc. When it comes to projects
or non-routine chores though, I have no idea how long they take me to do and I
always seem to underestimate them even when I try to pad the time. I will put five things on my list, but when I
actually start working on them I find hours have passed and I am still working
on the first task. The more physical
tasks are the worst because I am much more out of shape than I would like to
admit. My perfectionism hinders my
progress as well. I do not just want to
complete the task; I want to complete it correctly. So I should probably work on doing things
more efficiently, whether that means becoming more practiced at doing the tasks
or learning to be satisfied with “good enough”.
What about you? Are
you good about sticking to a schedule and getting things done? Do you lose time in your day? What are some of the things you find suck up your
time without your realizing it?
See you next week!
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