As we have Bank Holiday Monday coming up I have booked a day’s leave tomorrow. Four days off!! Sadly, the weather forecast doesn’t look that great, but I will make the best of it.
I find that my time off is currently completely filled with ‘stuff’. I need to make sure I have one day where we go out and have some fun. What’s the point of working hard all the time and not having the occasional bit of down time? I will try to get out in the garden and do some jobs if I can though as I want to keep up the momentum!
I tend to consider myself quite well organised and good at time management. However, recently I seem to have been busy all the time. Too much to do, or not organising myself well enough?
I read a post on another blog the other day about time management suggesting that I divide my day into 15 minute slots and write down everything I do during the course of several days to see where I am wasting time. I have carried out this kind of exercise in the past to see where I spend money and it was really useful. My initial thoughts on doing this to track my time were, ‘I don’t have time to do that!’ Perhaps if I just try it on the time I spend at home rather than the time I spend at work. I am thinking about it – anyone else tried this?
In any case I do have quite a lot to do so I will attempt to be as productive as possible, at the same time as allowing some relaxation time! Whatever you are doing this weekend, have a good one. If I blog quite a lot over the weekend you will know I have cracked it 😀.
Kirrie says
Oh ye gods no!.
On a day off ,no watch on, unless I need to go somewhere. Shower when up ,eat when hungry. Day unfolds. Working Sun and Monday over the holidays time and 2 thirds so all good chucked at mortgage.
What a nightmare 15 min plans on a day off, oh hell no!. Guessing by someone retired and bored
Margaret Powling says
I agree, watching the clock every 15 minutes would drive me nuts. Whoever thought this up? Mad or what? I’ve been retired (from part time work) for donkey’s years and husband for almost 20 years, but we fill our days and not doing useless things, either! He has helped our sons with their business, I am a freelance writer, mentally we have never ‘retired’. We’ve not joined old folks’ activities, U3A is not our kind of thing, indeed, we’re too young to be old, ha ha!
Margaret P
VickiEY says
I am somewhat younger than you and a member of U3A, having joined when I was 55. I can only speak for the organisation in my area (although it is available nationwide to anyone over 50 who does not work or only works part-time). It is a mistake to think it only offers ‘old folks’ activities’: ours has 3 walking groups, 2 motorbike groups, T’ai Chi, Yoga, swimming, allotment cultivation, various language groups, writing groups, choirs etc etc. It is a marvellous resource for people over 50, including those who are new to the area or recently bereaved, particularly as the membership fee is very low and activities are often virtually free.
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
That sounds good. My local group asked me to run some yoga classes actually but I couldn’t fit them in at the time. I think it’s a very good organisation
Margaret Powling says
HI, VickiEY,
Thank you for clarifying U3A and yes, I appreciate it has activities other than oldie ones, but I think what I should’ve said is that husband and I are not really “joiners-in” of things, such as U3A, bowling clubs, rambling clubs, knitting groups, etc, especially if they are made up mainly of retired people (well, if they meet in the daytime they must be primarily made up of retired people as younger ones would be at work.) But I do know they are good for those who enjoy group activities. I used to belong to the National Women’s Register and also the local choral society, later still a writers’ group, but now I don’t belong to any group activity. Were I on my own, I might join something for companionship, but right now I don’t like to be too ‘organized’, i.e. having a calendar of activites in which I ‘ought’ to participate. But I agree, ideal for those new to an area or recently bereaved.
Margaret P
Eloise at thisissixty.blog says
We used to use the 15 minute plan at work some years ago. It was a pretty standard management tool then. Staff completed the log for two days annually and the info was analysed to help plan future staffing levels and also to monitor certain processes to look at where they were or were not cost effective.
I had to be organised at work and I’m pretty well organised at home but I can certainly identify with being busy all the time. It is nice to have the odd day completely to oneself.
Note to Kirrie – I have never met a retired person who was bored!
Margaret Powling says
Hi, Eloise, I think the 15 minute plan might indicate that every 15 minutes people wasted some time filling in a plan, ha ha!
Margaret P
Elizabeth says
Enjoy your time off. I would hate the 15 minute increment exercise unless it is for work…
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
I think I would hate it for work as I am busy enough! I don’t want to fit more in lol
Margaret Powling says
The biggest time-waster of all is the internet, Jane! Just think of how much time we all spend on it, those of us who blog, or read blogs or, in my case, research articles and so forth. Not only that, and although I don’t ‘do’ Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or Instagram or anything like that, and I don’t use eBay (never have bought or sold things on eBay, it all looks far too complicated to me and possibly larded with problems) I write to lots of friends via email, and look at others’ lovely photos on Instagram. I also download all my own photos and edit them. I am sure that if I didn’t use the internet I’d have loads more time for other things.
But having said that (sorry, cliché!) I do find time for lots of things. Yes, husband and I are retired, but we are busy people. We go out, we walk, I take photographs, I write articles for magazines and also our local newspaper, we visit historic houses and gardens, and we help with our little grandson and also with our sons’ business (the apostrophe is correct, we have two sons.) We also do all our own decorating and maintenance at home, I keep our home clean and tidy (or hope I do!), I cook all meals from scratch (I’ve never bought a ready meal in my life, nor had a pizza takeaway – indeed, I don’t consider pizzas as ‘food’, it’s a snack). Indeed, I’m far too busy to write down every 15 minutes what I do. I know I waste time! But we are not robots (or should that be ROBOTs as it’s an acronym?) and if we are retired, I think we are allowed to waste time, and as much time as we like. If we are still in paid employment, then that’s a different matter. However, if you have a long weekend ahead of you, it does pay to plan it a bit but also to be adaptable so that if you planned to clean out the larder or something like that and it turned out sunny, then go out and enjoy the sunshine. Know when plans can be changed, that’s my way of doing things. There will always be housework. Dust will always be with us!
Margaret P
http://www.margaretpowling.com
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Sometimes doing nothing, watching tv, etc isn’t a waste of time, it is essential rest and recuperation
Jane eckwi says
Really! Why can’t just “allow” yourself a day….give yourself a break and learn you are alive..not a slave to time….
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
You’re right, of course
Julia says
You’d be better off using those 15 minutes increments to do some yoga or relaxation/day-dreaming!
Stopping every 15 minutes just to stare into space, enjoy the moment, take some death breaths, stretch the knotted muscles out, feel the sun on your face, have a cuppa, read a chapter of that book you started months ago but never find time to finish, enjoy a cuddle – all sound like much better uses of time to me! 🙂
shoestringjane@outlook.com says
Not sure about the death breaths though