When organizing my day, I think back to this brilliant monologue from the movie About a Boy:
“I find the key is to think of a day as units of time, each unit consisting of no more than 30 minutes. Full hours can be a little bit intimidating, and most activities take about half an hour. Taking a bath: One unit. Watching Countdown: One unit. Web-based research: Two units. Exercising: Three units. Having my hair carefully disheveled: Four units. It’s amazing how the day fills up.”
Humor aside, I love, love, love this! Whatever type of life you lead, I believe dividing your day into segments of 30-minute units helps you keep track of what you want to accomplish in your day and where you’re draining your time. This system keeps you focused. While you may not finish one project, you will make progress in many aspects of your life for that day. Switching it up keeps it interesting. It keeps your mind sharp and you on top of your A-game.
The last line of this is, “I often wonder, to be absolutely honest, if I’d ever have time for a job. How do people cram them in?"
It’s so true! I am super-productive; even though I haven’t had a 9-5 in a while, I still find that the days fly by with my schedule.
Daily manicure: One unit. Internet Research: Three units. Errands: Two units. Run: Two units. Shower: One unit. Freelance work: Four units. Work on novella or blog: One unit. Phone chat with family and friends: Two units. Clean apt. (I make my bed as soon as I wake up. I have no clothes on my floor EVER. And something always needs to be done whether dusting, dishes, sweeping, bathroom scrubbing, or trash. Always cleaning, every day, because I can’t concentrate with a mess): One or two units. Reading: One unit.
Then factor in friend time, boyfriend time, puppysitting, doing laundry, long phonecalls to the cable or electric company or bank or post office or every other xyz “service provider” that you need to resolve an issue with and all of the other things that have to be fit into a week.
There is a lot to do!