Time is Tight

Ever feel like you don't have enough time? When you think about it, having 24 hours in a day should be enough to get everything done. Factor in six or seven hours for sleep and that still leaves you at least 17 hours in which to accomplish whatever needs to be done. Okay, say eight to 10 of those hours is spent either at or traveling to work. That gives you seven hours of non-work time.

Here's the stuff I like to do when I'm not working:

• Spending time with family


• Running or otherwise exercising


• Playing sports


• Consuming media (Web, music, TV, books, movies)


• Getting together with friends


• Writing (columns, blog posts, other stuff)


• Podcasting


• Vacationing


• Eating and drinking


• Seeing rock shows

There are other things that are less fun but still necessary, like household chores, yard work, etc. When you think about it, accomplishing all those tasks in seven hours a day (and obviously more on the weekend) isn't easy. If there was a way to cram more hours into a day, I wonder if we'd get more done or if we'd just waste them. Sometimes you just need to relax. And if you try to do too much in a short period of time, you run the risk of doing it poorly.

Even with all that stuff, I'd love to fit a few more things into my schedule. I don't read enough. I don't practice my guitar enough, or at all a lot of the time. I'd love to spend more time with my family; during the week, it's an hour in the morning and a few hours after I get home from work.

And even at work, there never seems to be enough time. There are folks who have made millions with time organization plans like Stephen Covey's 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Whenever I've heard presentations about time management, it all seems like basic common sense. It's really about blocking out distractions and getting things done methodically. Not always an easy thing to do, especially these days when you've got so much shiny objects to pull you away from the task at hand. It was much easier to complete an assignment or task in the past when you didn't have email or the Internet to distract you; at the same time, they help with certain aspects of the job such as research and communication.

I always liked the concept of the movie Multiplicity, in which Michael Keaton clones himself to get everything done in his life. Of course, each clone is a copy of the original and has certain defects, and wackiness ensues. So the solution becomes a problem. And besides, who has the time to deal with all those hassles?

Update: Just ran across this interesting take on organization, the circular to-do list. Might have to give it a try.