Time Management

Summer is more than half over and I'm not happy with the amount of practicing I've been doing. I'm a teacher, so I always think the summer will be a great time for catching up on all those home projects, plus doing a lot of practicing, plus going to Ravinia to hear the Chicago Symphony and other great musicians, plus taking some trips. Then I'd also like to do some writing, explore Chicago neighborhoods, try out new recipes, and get back in shape. Maybe this is overly ambitious.

It seems to take me several weeks to adjust once school lets out for the summer.  Now, at the end of July, I am finally adjusting to summer. I now have the revised goals of getting into an exercise routine that I can stick with once school starts and practicing to build up more endurance and refresh my memory of some excerpts before I go to FAT Camp in a couple of weeks. I'd also like to make progress in decluttering the house. At this point I already need to begin thinking about my upcoming school year, too.

I recently read a blog post on edaxicon about time, which I strongly related to. The author is also a teacher who wanted to be productive in the summer, specifically writing a novel, but finished the summer with a half-written novel. Conversely, during the school year when teachers called for "working to the rule," school hours only, in order to avoid a strike, the author was able to finish all necessary school work without taking any home or staying late. Dax's conclusion was that your project, whatever it is, will expand to fill the time you give it.

My time issues are compounded by a tendency to procrastinate (warm-up on horn at 10 pm?) and to get sucked into other people's activities. I can't say I regret doing things with others, but I am always wishing I had gotten something done before going shopping with my daughter, or helping my son clip the kittens' nails.

One would think that if I realize all this I could take steps to use my time more efficiently. Sometimes, though, what you most need is to "waste" your time. Spend hours reading a novel, talking with friends, laying around in the backyard... Of course, none of those things are a waste of time; they are sometimes the very thing you need to recharge.

I am looking for balance.