Day 1, like life, did not go entirely as planned. We have a “wintry mix” of precipitation falling, and so that changed everything. My day:
6:30 – up, heard husband, got up 6:45 and showered
7-7:30 – hung out w/2-year-old
7:30- 8:30 – made breakfast for kids (and me), G came at 8, I helped 8-year-old with suddenly-located homework due today. Got big kids in coats/hats/gloves and to bus.
8:30-9:30 – worked – mostly clearing decks, alas.
9:30-10:30 – worked, but distracted by emails/calls from school about early closure. Schools closing at 12:30. Emailed both boys’ teachers their new dismissal plans. Tried to figure out where daughter was (she goes between an enrichment program and the school) – learned she was at the elementary school and would be bused home from there (phew).
10:30-12:15 – finally worked on the speculative writing project I’d assigned myself for the morning.
12:15 – 12:45 – ate, worked, G and 2-year-old came home.
12:45- 1 – kids home.
1-1:30 – worked.
1:30-2:20 – talked G, learned she wanted to leave early with deteriorating driving conditions. So I got ready and went for a run outside before she would need to go. It was a nice run, actually – about 3 miles. The slight bit of sleet on my face made me feel alive. I wore my new Athleta fuzzy Polar-tec pants.
2:20-4 – worked, trying to prioritize in time I had. G left at 4 to try to beat the worst of the ice.
4-5:10 – played outside with 2-year-old. In the freezing rain! He is tough, and it was nice to be outside. There’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! The older children amused themselves somehow inside. I’m really not sure how. Screens were probably involved.
5:10-5:30 – made dinner (build your own taco night)
5:30-5:50 – ate dinner with the kids. There was a lot of popping up and fetching things, but we did manage to sit together for a while.
5:50-6:10 – got kids a show, cleaned the kitchen.
6:10-6:35 – vaguely attempted to do this log, read for work for a bit, while 6-year-old played with 2-year-old
6:35-7:20 – gave up, played with 6-year-old and 2-year-old, then convinced 8-year-old to take a bath with the 2-year-old. There was a lot of splashing and bubbles.
Now, at 7:20, I’ll go ahead and publish — we will see how the rest of the night goes. I’m hoping to get the 2-year-old up to bed before too long, and then everyone else in their beds by 9 p.m. I hope to watch some of the Alabama/Georgia game, and maybe read a bit more too. Wish me luck!
How did your day go?
My most thought-provoking insight from Day 1 was about travel time. I’m currently not working for pay, about to launch my own business and in the meantime doing some very heavy volunteering/pro bono stuff. Despite not having a “job” to go to, I spent just over 2 hours yesterday commuting to various meetings (and I didn’t do my kids’ school dropoff or pickup yesterday!) Time tracking made me more aware of these commute times and what I did with them. There were four chunks throughout the day, and I tried to match them with time of day and energy level. Two I used for email cleanout/catchup on my phone while riding the subway. The third I decided to walk instead of taking the subway – this added 10 minutes, but I used the walk to get some exercise and to call my mother for fun. The walk helped energize me for the 3 hour meeting I was heading into. The last one, about 9 pm, I just sat on the subway – partly because my phone battery was very low and partly because at that point the most productive thing I could do was just sit. For the rest of the week, I’m thinking about (a) how to restructure my schedule to cut back a bit on commute time, and (b) for the commute times I need to do, how to fill them well given where I am in the day.
@Fan from Boston- I think figuring out how to use transition times, such as commuting times, is a key part of making time for fun stuff. It’s time we have, it’s just often hard to use. If we can use it, especially to boost energy (like the walk) it’s a big win.
Day 1 was my first full work day of the year, and I got masses done (possibly because I was very aware of tracking my time!). My two year old is finally settling into his routine again after the holidays, so morning and bedtimes went quite smoothly. I even had time to watch the first episode of a new series of a show we love with my husband, and still got to bed at a good time! Hoping the rest of the week goes as well…