Time management revisited

Brenda posted earlier about the necessity of leaving time for leisure in your schedules. That can be tough, that's for sure. I work full-time, often more than 40 hours a week, but sometimes less. I'm online at work at least 50 hours, monitoring email and answering questions if needed, but I'm not chained to the desk.

When my parents were still alive, I spent a lot of time traveling back and forth to help them. 250 miles one way. I got a lot of "writing" done because I dictated scenes while I drove. After they died, I really missed that chunk of time dedicated to driving and writing. Now I telecommute full-time, so I don't even have commuting time. I'm still working 40-50 hours a week, but now my commute is my work office to my home office, just a few steps. Not good for Thinking Time.

Luckily, it's Garden Season. I can go out, pull some weeds and think through plot points, etc. That helps a lot. And I've also taught myself to sit, close my eyes, and just focus on what I'm doing. Then I open my eyes and get writing.

My leisure time is in chunks now. I get up really early (insomnia can be our friend) and do a 45-minute run on the treadmill and stream a TV show as I do. I consider that a bit of leisure. Streaming old episodes of West Wing is a great way to wake up.

Then my next chunk is an hour or two a day when I switch from Paycheck Work to Fiction Writing, usually around 4 or 5pm. I take a break between the two parts of my day.

My other leisure time is when I knock off my writing at 8:30 or 9 at night. For the next hour, I listen to books on tape and do needlework, or watch a movie with the Spouse, or occasionally flick on the TV. I'm usually jotting ideas while I sew, but it's a time for me to relax at the end of the whole day.

Weekends are really variable: sometimes I just write all weekend, other times I'm doing family things or going to a play or whatever. I consider my "leisure" time to be that two hours a day, between jobs and before bedtime. That's sufficient for me.

My view may change when I retire and look back on this (how did I manage with only 2 or 3 "free" hours a day?) but for now, it's working. I enjoy my chunks of fun.

Speaking of fun, I have a book coming out soon -- in a few days, as a matter of fact. I'll talk all about it next time, but for a sneak peak at the cover, check my web site.

Until next time !

J L
(jayellwilson.com)