The Time Audit

I can’t hear the words ‘the time’ without automatically thinking of ‘The Time Warp’ from The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

And now you’ll have the same problem.
 
As part of my SYP mentorship, Juliet asked me to track my working hours. Over a series of weeks, I wrote down what I did at what time and for how long.
What I learned that can help you

• There are not as many working hours in a day as you think. Even without a commute, there isn’t an eight-hour work day. It’s a myth. Plan accordingly.
• If you schedule something, you’re more likely to do it. Want to take that thirty-minute walk at lunch? Put it in your calendar, make sure your lunch is easy to make that day, and be thinking about it all morning. You won’t want to miss it!
• Sure, you can pull fifteen-hour days, but you shouldn’t. You’ve got to pick and choose; don’t say yes to everything. You will burn out.
• By doing thirty-minutes a day of something (admin, email, marketing), you don’t save it all up for one miserable day that will leave you feeling demotivated and unhappy.

 
What I learned about myself

• My working hours are very imbalanced. Some days, editing takes up my entire day. Admin piles up and then I spend several hours one day catching up.
• I sign up for a lot of conferences, webinars, and online meetings. Watch the videos the week of, or not at all. It doesn’t matter if they’ll be available for three months – it’s a trap!
• Schedule in sick days and time off—and don’t actually work on those days. The two huge dips were days I tried to work when I was ill.
• And I probably got ill because I was at my desk for far too many hours the weeks prior to those dips!
• I don’t exercise enough.
• Well done on taking breaks from the desk! Taking more time for breakfast, lunch and dinner has improved my family life. Yay!
• I don’t waste time doomscrolling on social media! Awesome! But I’m also not spending quality time interacting with authors and writers: I mostly chat with friends and family.
• Stop saying yes to everything.
• I need to get better at time management so I can enjoy the benefits of being my own boss. If I want to take off every last Wednesday of the month to go on a hike or to a museum, I’m the only one who can make it happen.