Finding Time

Originally published 21 August 2006.

One of the things about applying both Flylady and GTD to my life is that I find that instead of spinning my wheels, I have more time to do things that I want to do. I know that everything will get handled in due time, thanks to my lists, and I can relax and enjoy the moment. At first this was hard — I was so used to going full steam ahead that I was unable to relax or do my fun stuff without feeling like I should be doing more on my lists.

One thing that helps this for myself is to not put too much on my next action list. I have a tendency to have too many projects going at once, and at this point, I am making a conscious effort to limit the number so I have free time to do things like writing.

The other thing is that instead of snatching moments to recreate from my time, I am making some things a priority. Taking the example of a friend of mine, I get up a bit earlier every day, and do my daily reading and journaling. I’ve also done some blog posting at this time, and I’m finding that it is making it easier for me to get my writing time in.

I initially started this because I read of someone who does this, and how it sets the day up so that no matter what else happens, the day starts exactly how I want it to. But I am finding added benefit. I retain my daily reading, and think about it. When I used to sandwich it in at the end of the day (just another check to make on the next action list), I found I would read just to get through it, and not really think about it or retain it. I never used to be able to find the time to concentrate on journaling, either, and this set-aside time in the morning is really bringing that desire to life.

So what other things do I routinely need to make room for? I would love to have a dedicated time for crafting and listening to my audiobooks. Perhaps that is something I can do at night. It is relaxing, and will get me off the computer at a decent time. So the goal for this week is to work on crafting at least a half hour every day, starting at 9:30; and also listen to my audio material during that time. (I have to admit I have a terrible backlog of books as the result of being a member of Audible.com for almost four years. I have listened to perhaps 25% of the books I have purchased, and setting aside time to listen daily will really make a dent in that backlog.)

Next action on this: report back in a week on how this is going.