Do you ever end your day and then wonder where all of your time fly to? It just seems like no matter how hard I try and no matter how organized I get, I still cannot find enough time in one day to squeeze in all of the things that I need to get done! This is so annoying. I have always thought that I am pretty good at time management. But for the last month or so, I just don't know what has happened and it just seems like my minutes in a day are disappearing rapidly and where have I been all of those time? I have no idea. But I am determined to get to the bottom of this. I am sure that most of you out there shares the same dilemma.
So I did a little experiment and these are my findings:
EXPERIMENT: To find out where I have spent most of my time during the day, I have recorded every detail of my day. Including but not limited to: how long I spent eating breakfast, getting ready in the morning, time spent on the phone, time spent on the computer, drinking coffee, where I had gone to that day, time spent in traffic, time spent driving, grocery shopping, etc...
I made a chart (with rows and columns). On the rows, I wrote the day and then I wrote the activities I did under here too. On the columns, I wrote the time and how long it took me to do each activity.
RESULTS:
So long story short, by keeping a written record of where I have been, what I have done, and my activities throughout the day, I have resulted in the following findings (these are the average calculation from my findings, used to give you an idea):
Time getting ready: 8-8:45am (45 min.)
Breakfast: 8:45-9am (15 minutes)
Coffee time: 9am-10:30am (1 hours & 30 min.)
Phone Calls: 10:30-11:30am (1 hour)
Computer time: 11:30-3:30pm (5 hours)
Errands: 3:30-7:30pm (4 hours (including drive time)
Coffee Break: 7:30-8:00pm (30 min.)
Dinner: 8-9pm (1 hour)
Computer time: 9-11pm (2 hours)
Getting ready for bed: 11-11:30pm (30 min)
Computer time: 11:30-12:30pm (1 hour)
CONCLUSION: So according to my data, I have found that I spent most of my day either on the phone or on my computer. It is the time spent on the computer that has been eating away the minutes of my day. But even though when I am on the computer to do my business (blogging, FB, forums, etsy shop), I think that I do get side track. Even though I keep telling myself that I am not to spend anymore than 1 hour a day blogging and on Facebook; I still end up hours online. It is because I get easily carried away with the topics in the forums or emails from people. The conclusion is that I need some kind of a system or method to better manage my time. But the most important thing is that I have to keep to it, stick to my schedule,and not get side track. This is going to be a BIG challenge.
RECOMMENDATIONS:
1. Set a schedule
2. Have a daily and weekly planner
3. Set your calendar on your phone
4. Google has a really good calendar online for free.
5. Have an egg timer for smaller tasks.
6. Don't go to websites that are NOT on your schedule.
7. Do not go shopping on Etsy when you are suppose to list items in your shop.
8. Do not have wondering eyes and check out items in other people's shop (I am so guilty of this).
9. Most importantly, stick to your schedule.
10. Have a buddy system. Have your friends, husband, or kids check up on you, and remind you when you have to get off the computer and on to the next task.
I would love to hear of the different things that you try to do to stay on schedule. Please write to me or comment on my blog.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Kudos to you for figuring out your how you spend your day. I spend 8hrs at work, 4hrs in my studio (especially if I have orders or a trunk show) the rest go to cleaning and cooking and computer time. I would love to find a way to schedule in some etsy time. I have not posted in a while.
ReplyDeletegood luck to you.
I have noticed lately that I spend much more time on my computer, too. I go on with good intentions of blogging, reading and commenting on other blogs, etc. but end up browsing etsy, clicking link after link on blogs which lead me to other blogs I need to follow and read... And then all of a sudden it's 1 in the morning and I realize my alarm will go off at the same time whether I've had enough sleep or not! Trouble. I should set up a system as well. Thanks for sharing/inspiring!
ReplyDelete<3 jenna(saurus)
I think that one of those machines that can freeze time would be a better option, don't you? lol I know where my time goes, I just need more of it. Between 10 hour work days, commuting, taking care of regular household stuff, and spending time with my fiance' and preschool-aged daughter there just isn't enough time. It's after midnight now - this is my etsy/computer time. I'm exhausted, and my order was supposed to be shipped today. *sigh* Priority upgrade it is.
ReplyDeleteGreat article I plan to observe my time managment a bit more and focus on setting a more productive schedule
ReplyDeleteI love numbers 7 and 8 the most. I don't know how long I probably spend perusing etsy. It's really hard not to.
ReplyDeleteI'm definitely struggling with the same issues as you. I wish I had some good advice to bestow upon you. Good luck and let us all know what you come up with!
Awesome job finding out the culprits of your stolen time..... but it seems like it's the fun things you're cutting out. LOL- don't we all spend a little time browsing Etsy? It's impossible not to with all that great stuff!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I work for an attorney and this is all we do, we track time. It is a wonderful skill to have when you are crafting as a second job too! I find that everything is right in line with what you are saying...if I don't schedule my day to include the tasks that I need to accomplish for my crafting business, it will not get done!
ReplyDeleteI love this. I would have to say my day is about the same, except more coffee drinking.
ReplyDeleteThis would be soooo me! Time spent on computer/phone. And I wonder how I never get things done!
ReplyDeleteI come home from work everyday with plans in my head to get certain tasks done in my little etsy business. Sometimes I want to make product, sometimes take photos, sometimes write descriptions, and sometimes post items online. I think I actually accomplish what I set out to do about once out of every four days. I probably need to make a written schedule like you suggest. Good to know I am not alone in this. Oh, and I love browsing etsy for hours! LOL!
ReplyDeleteExcellent thoughts! I've tried to get more organized, but so far I haven't managed to get it down on paper. I definitely get lost in all the things that I don't really need to be doing :(
ReplyDeleteOk! This is like totally weird. You have just summed up my day. The computer kills me and my time. One good thing is you are making valuable back links by visiting other blogs and replying. Second, I do not have enough time to do all the creating I want with this schedule. I love this time management idea and thanks for sharing. I need to do some evaluating myself.
ReplyDelete