A few days ago, an article that I had read on http://www.lifehacker.com/ gave me the idea to try waking up earlier than my normal time to work on my writing and projects before heading off to the cubicle jungle. On Lifehacker.com - an incredibly resourceful website that everyone should check out - there was an article titled "What Time Do You Wake Up?" and it really affected my view of my own personal time management skills or lack thereof.
Currently, the alarm goes off at 6:00 AM and my wife hits snooze and we go through that old back and forth dance until about 6:20 AM when she gets up to take Tulip outside to get down to business. During that time, she has since turned on NPR and I toss and turn until what we call "The Puppy Bullet" crashes up the stairs, and leaps into bed to thrust her rubber chicken in my face. From there, I pull the top blanket over her and she goes back to sleep and I dose in-between the radioland horrors going on in the world and my wife's blow dryer. At 7:00 AM, I finally get up and shower, get dressed, fix breakfast and download the podcasts that I will attempt to listen to at the cubicle farm.
From the moment the alarm goes off, and many times before that even happens, I am cursing the day and what it holds in store for me. I dislike talking, being talked to, loud noises, barking or any sort of tasks that need to be done. I then carry my crummy mood with me to work, where it is fed and nurtured into a raging frothing-mouthed beast that I have been able to somewhat subdue by taking a ten minute break to read a book outside of the office and then return to the grind. I wolf down the lunch that I have brought with me and around 1:45 PM I take my lunch hour to run home and take Tulip for a walk and to play frisbee, which nearly defeats the beast whose jaws clench around my heart and mind. I then put the puppy away and return to work for the last couple of hours, which is a short amount of time and the high from playing with the dog thankfully carries me through to the end.
After work, I go to the gym, or go for a three and a half mile run, go home, take the dog for a final walk, shower, make dinner with my wife and eat it while watching a groovy tv show. By the time we have finished that course of events, it is after 8:00 PM and we have to do the dishes, brush teeth, etc. My wife then goes to bed and Tulip follows her up.
Needless to say, I am wrecked, tired and the only things that I have done for myself can be quantified into one or two hours. Now I am faced with the decision, I can somehow kickstart my brain into writing something, play Resident Evil 5, watch a show, or read a book. Inevitably, I begin to falter and pass out. So, I spent my time doing things to make other people rich and done very little to enrich myself or my loved ones.
After reading the article, I have decided to try to get up at 6:00 AM on-the-dot to get ready, have a full glass of water, and do my writing and/or editing and then, hopefully, head off to work with a sense of accomplishment. Night time can then be spent doing mercifully mind numbing zombie killing or watching episodes of Spartacus. If this works out, I may even attempt to rise at 5:30 AM, but that is a matter that I will have to negotiate with myself once I get rolling on the dreaded 6:00 AM rise. We shall see.
The article can be found at http://lifehacker.com/5501193/what-time-do-you-wake-up.
No comments:
Post a Comment