Time Traps

Recently, I've been tracking my time. My analysis to date hasn't been very meaningful. Although I thought I  was doing well, I found I had missed several hours. D'oh--time to try again.

Even before I tracked my hours, I knew what some of my time traps were: TV, Internet, slow mornings.

The TV trap has been around the longest: Jeff and I have been talking about this for years. Jeff had suggested that we spent a night or two without TV. I've been resistant to this idea; I like the sound of TV around me. But I've been coming around. We now have a virtually unlimited capacity on our DVR--most of my films noir still reside there--so we don't have to watch everything live.

I have to admit that I still planned part of my Monday morning around things I could do while watching the Bette Davis film, "Cabin in the Cotton." It wasn't a complete waste of time (I exercised, put away laundry and reviewed a SAT test as I watched.) But it wasn't an effective use of time.

I don't think that my time tracking accurately reflects the time I spend on the Internet. I often find that I search something that may take a few minutes, but then I spend a half hour plus on something somewhat related. 

Then there are the mornings. If I don't have a morning appointment, I tend to linger over my journal, coffee, CNN news and emails. Soon an hour (or more) flies by. I enjoy the lingering but regret the time that I've lost. I've gotten better about my mornings, but have a way to go.

Time tracking/time management is a work in progress and a long term project. At least I feel optimistic about the beginning.