Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Where does free time go?

First, I apologize for the span between posts.  When I started this blog, I anticipated a post a day.  I thought the simplest way to go about that would be to spend as much time as possible whenever I thought about it stockpiling posts, and then scheduling them to be posted later on.  This is a very effective method for me, as long as the post isn't relevant to some sort of current event.  If that were the case, I would schedule said blog to be posted earlier.  I know it seems silly to want to be so diligent about a blog that may not have many readers, if any.  If I don't care; however, than why should any potential readers?  I would like to be reliable, as that can keep readers coming back.  The fact that I fell behind a couple of days on my blog really brought up the subject that I am surprised at the lack of free time I have.
 
When I was in college I was balancing class for 18 credit hours (most of the time), working part time, homework, and a very active social life without sacrificing the much needed "me" time.  I also had that mentality that I was very busy, and my ability to balance straight As and my social life was something to be proud of.  I mean, if you took into account my work schedule and class schedule, not to mention homework, it came out to close to a 40 hour week.  Enter the real world.  I work 40 hours a week, and find myself with less free time than I've ever had.  I wake up at 6:00 AM (sometimes I'll hit snooze until 6:20 AM), leave my apartment at around 7:20 AM to catch my train.  I work nine and a half hour days in exchange for an extra day off every pay period.  Thus, I sacrifice a good portion of my day.  I arrive home at a little after 7:00 PM in time to eat dinner, catch up on a little housework, and then retire sometime between 9:00 and 9:30 PM.  I do not go in bed at this time, but use it to sip some tea and unwind before a fall asleep sometime after 10:00 PM.  Weekends are hit or miss as far as how busy they are.  Summertime we're often taking trips to visit family, and with the holidays coming up we've been booked many of the weekends.  My extra day off has been moved around to make up for Holidays that my fiance has off, but I do not for our trips home lately.  I dread how I will manage my time when in the (distant) future I have children.
 
Keep in mind that I am by no means complaining about my schedule (I know many people work and keep tougher schedules than this).  I am more remarking on how naive I was in college thinking that I was busy with school.  I do manage to fit in several of my hobbies in that short period between 9:00 PM and 10:00 PM.  I will read, or work on my blog, catch up on DVR, or just spend that time chatting about my day with my fiance.  The extra hour and a half on the train each day also helps.  Unfortunately, I have no way to blog on the train.  I'm trying to see if I can find an app for my new iPod that will offer this capability (many may be rendered useless without an internet connection), but I fear the small keypad may become taxing.  We will see how this goes in the future.  Perhaps a good topic would be how I manage my busy schedule.
 
Readers:  Any time saving tricks you use to get through the day?  Do you feel you're far busier now that you were when you were younger?  Also, any recommendations for blogging apps for the iPod?

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