A Formspring question (still sitting in my inbox, yet to be answered) prompted me to start tracking how I was spending my time. Actually it’s due to several questions, all along the vein of “I just don’t understand why you can’t graduate/do this/that/the other, you just sit at home all day”. Good question(s). Why do I go to sleep each night feeling like I haven’t accomplished anything that day? I’ve been tracking everything I do for 9 days now (everything except bathroom visits, just go ahead and assume something like once an hour), and I’m still not ready to stop because I’m as of yet still not sure where it all goes. I’ll be posting a nice breakdown at the end of my experiment (when will it end?) as I think it’s rather fascinating to realize how much time goes into showering/dressing, cleaning, blogging, talking to my husband, sleeping, etc.
The downside for my little blog? I feel less motivated to post because I’m embarrassed how much time I devote to That Wife! I’m definitely feeling more motivated to get some advertising put together, as I probably wouldn’t feel so guilty if I could make a bit of money on the side. Regular posting should resume soon though, as I have entirely too many posts I want to write to stay away for long. Midwife visits! Baby shower plans (and a registry)! Why TH is a rockstar husband to his pregnant wife! Plans for my mom to fly down for the birth! Adventures in the kitchen! An excess of exclamation points can’t even begin to describe how ready I am to share this with all of you.
I’m just going to have to figure out how to crank these posts of mine out a little bit faster.
Also:
Good for you for keeping track of how you spend your time… I think it’s brave of you. I’m mostly afraid and a little intrigued to see how much time I devote to certain things, so I think I’ll try it too. I had a neighbor tell me today that every time he stops by, I’m on the computer. Sigh, I didn’t realize how much time I devoted to it. So, you’re not the only one who spends time blogging!
If YOU want to spend less time posting, that’s completely fair…. but don’t stop doing things that you enjoy just because a bunch of readers (ie - strangers, really) have prioritized how they think you should spend your time!!
Your time is your own. I think your exercise is really interesting, but make sure you’re still doing things that make you happy!!
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
I don’t think I could ever stop. I go through blog withdrawals if I go a few days without posts going up and comments hitting my inbox.
I’ll admit (and I’ll probably get flamed for admitting) that I’m one of those people who’s wondered about how busy you are. Not in a judgmental way, or at least I’ve tried not to let it be that. Our lives are just so very different.
)
Our due dates are just a few weeks apart. That is the same.
I’m still shooting weddings, and portrait sessions three times a week, and keeping up with a six year old, and working with contractors on our house plans, and the list goes on. I’ve felt overwhelmed once or twice, but generally, it’s just the way life is. I keep going until I don’t want to go anymore.
(That date, coincidentally, is March 16. My last pre-baby shoot. I’m starting to look forward to it now.
I think what’s important is that you and I have both found our own comfort level of “busy”, and how much we feel like we can accomplish without losing the time to ourselves. For everyone, that level is going to be different.
And I agree with what Cristin said about… any choice you make about how you spend your time needs to be YOUR choice, not something influenced by people who don’t really know you. If That Wife makes you happy, and isn’t damaging to your home and marriage, then I say keep doing it! Obviously, we all enjoy it, too, or we wouldn’t be here.
I read your blog frequently, but don’t often post. However, this is an issue I have been struggling with too and I have to say I agree with the above posters. A single day only has a certain amount of time in it and you have to choose how you want to spend that time and feel happy about how you spent it. Which for you it seems like writing this blog and working on your photography are what makes you happy and is your priority. It’s clear that you still accomplish other things throughout the day- hence your time spent at church and with your husband.
I think I was one of those Formspring questions (although I hope mine didn’t come off as rude). I think I asked something along the lines of how much time you spend on the internet/computer. Because I am a teacher, and I don’t blog, yet I feel like I spend a RIDICULOUSLY embarrasing amount of time on my computer. So, I am trying to justify my own computer over-usage by comparing it to yours.
I’m with Cristin, only limit the time you spend on your activities if you want to or think/feel you should.
The issue of people questioning what you are doing with your time reminds me of how some are also questioning how you are spending your money… and specifically why you aren’t making it a priority to decorate your nursery. Different strokes for different folks, there’s no shame in being different.
I work very long hours and I go to bed thinking I didn’t get anything done all the time. You can spend your day how you want-it’s your time/your life.
reading people’s comments probably takes up as much time as writing, no? don’t be ashamed of spending so much time on your blog, unless it’s getting in the way of other stuff of course.
I still check everyday looking for a new post!
I don’t think there is an issue with how much time you spend on TW. I do believe you should be capitalising on it with advertising etc to make sure it isn’t just a hobby. Because I don’t think TW is really a hobby - I think it ties in with Jenna Cole, building your online persona and ‘brand’ a’la Jasmine Star. Albeit with a slightly less saccharine edge
I think I just get a tad jealous that you have more time (and financial support) to focus on your business and blogging than me, more than anything else. I work a lot and still study for a degree I (like you) see little value in.
You know, this is something I have to check myself on, my judgment of how other people spend their time, or what I perceive as their lack of motivation. I’m not running around like a chicken with my head cut off, but I am very, very, very productive, even with a lot going on. As an example- last year I took between 3 and 4 graduate classes each semester- incredibly demanding in terms of papers/reading, it was INSANE, none were online- worked a full 40 hour week, started doing yoga and literally did not miss my hour long, two times a week class for the first 8 months I took it, was going out on a date or two a week on average, I was active in the presidential election for about a year prior, serving as the Democratic Precinct Chair for my precinct, as well as the Obama captain for my precinct, and I served as the state representative at the Dem. convention, and I was reading the online news every day as well, something I still do for about an hour each day. I also got into coupon shopping and started learning how to get most stuff for free, which was fabulous, and helped me accomplish my goal of paying off all debt except for my student loan!
I was busy as hell, yes, but I was happy and wasn’t going insane. I felt productive, healthy, etc., not uptight or crazy or veering on the edge of a nervous breakdown.
What I’m trying to illustrate by that long wordy point is that I look at the above, my life, I have to remind myself that some people WOULD have been veering on the edge of a nervous breakdown. It’s hard bc I look at some of my peers, and almost all they do each week is work 40 hours. No kids. No school. They don’t work out. They don’t read. They don’t read the news. They don’t have any hobbies, creative or fun or otherwise. They literally just go to work, go home, repeat. It’s been very hard for me to realize, you know what, that’s THEIR life, and they choose to spend their time differently. We’re different people, and maybe it’s really hard for them to get motivated. Or, maybe, they just plain don’t value what I value. There isn’t anything wrong with that. It’s hard, especially when they complain they don’t have enough time to work out, but they play video games for hours, or they don’t have time to cook, but they’ll go out to eat at a restaurant and spend and hour and a half buying food and drinks. But we all have our own lives to live, so I keep my mouth shut about it. I’m not perfect, so yeah, I think it, but there isn’t any use saying anything. It’s not going to give *me* any more time, so why bother wasting the time I do have giving a lecture? They probably look at my life and get exhausted, or say “I could NEVER do that, who would want to??”
I’ll be interested in the posts related to this though, maybe you could turn it into a “link your own” blog post about the project or something. Then we can all feel guilty about all the time we’re cumulatively wasting. And wow, this was long, and now someone will waste their time reading my long comment about how I don’t like to waste time… oh the cycle!
Jenna Reply:
March 17th, 2010 at 8:18 pm
Over time I’ve recieved a little glimpse into your life through your blog and your comments and I’m amazed by how much you are able to accomplish (and all of the blogs I see you popping up on in the comments section as well!)
One thing you made me realize for some reason (not sure why) is that I might not be doing a lot, but the things I am doing I am doing pretty well. I’m frustrated that I’m not like you, managing a bazillion things without going crazy and I go to bed feeling like I didn’t get anything done each night. But it’s not that I don’t get anything done, it’s that I don’t get 30 things done. I might do 5, but I’m proud of how well I do them. That Wife is growing, Jenna Cole is growing, my house is rather clean, my relationship with my husband is awesome, etc. It might be that I just don’t have the time/drive/willpower/energy to do 30 things well, but I don’t want to do 30 things poorly so I’m just going to have to stick with my 5 things for now.
Sophia Reply:
March 18th, 2010 at 7:37 am
That’s an excellent point- it’s better to do what you do well, than do 1,000 things badly. A lot of people feel guilty about not doing more, so then they make commitments they can’t keep, or aren’t motivated to do, and then when they can’t follow through that makes them *more* guilty.
I’m a super big fan of Franklin Covey’s planner system, because 80% of the class- and his books- are *not* about time management, but rather about discovering one’s priorities in life, and then recognizing their importance by allocating time towards them. There are things I must do each day, things I’d like to do, and things that are just superfluous fluffy fun stuff. Knowing where activites lie on that spectrum based on my values and priorities makes it a whole lot less stressful. And I too am amazed at everything you are able to accomplish! Marriage, moves, babies, and business all in a little over a year, plus school and Church, that’s a lot! And you know what, that is one thing to remember- your Church membership is the most important thing in your life, and the LDS Church requires a large time commitment- just Church is 3 hours a week, plus callings and service on top of that. It can sometimes be like a part time job in terms of time commitment. So you’ve already committed a large portion of your prioritized time to that, as you should. That’s a meaningful thing to spend time on.
I don’t even want to know how much time I spend doing stuff. I know it would make me feel partially useless.
have you applied to blogher? you can email me if you want some tips!
I agree that criticizing how one spends her time is like taking an interest in how she spends her money. Both are completely inappropriate. I can easily see how I could fill each day of the week not being at work, and I feel as though I waste a lot more time BECAUSE I come to an office each day (1 hour each morning getting showered, dressed, picking up, eating breakfast, then 30+ minutes driving here. Afterward 30+ minutes driving home, changing out of work clothes, talking about my day/stressing out-and that’s not counting the useless lunch hour I am forced to take!) There is a lot that I wish I had more time to do, so to me, your life seems ideal. Also, I don’t like my job, so “staying home” to do things I am passionate about sounds wonderful. Personally, I know I waste a ton of time all day, and I don’t care. I don’t want my life to be any more hectic than it is. I feel I already do not enjoy it enough, so if I waste 5 minutes each morning watching yesterday’s Oprah or staring off into space, so be it!