168 Hours Time Tracking Challenge Day 5

Today has been a long day. I am attempting to post this on the train home from NYC but Amtrak wifi is sometimes spotty. If you are reading this before 11 p.m., it worked!

Anyway, last night I did some work after posting, and went to bed around 10:30. My husband came to talk to me and woke me up, which meant I really didn’t go to sleep until 11-ish.

11- 5:45 a.m. — slept. The 2-year-old woke up yelling for me. It was my husband’s turn (definitely!) but after he got him the kid kept screaming that he wanted mommy. He came into my bed to find me and climbed on top of me.

5:45-6:10 – I carried the 2-year-old downstairs so he could watch a show with Daddy. My husband dared to make a comment that I was lucky I had gone to bed so early, and he had stayed up late so he was tired, which caused me to blow up that the only reason I go to bed so early is that the 2-year-old wakes up so (#*$*#(* early. I would love to do other things with my time: work, watch TV, read, whatever.

6:10-6:40 – tried to sleep, but I was worked up.

6:40- 7:15 – ran outside

7:15 – 8:30 – dealt with kids, showered, dressed, did hair, packed up, etc.

8:30- 8:45 – monitored bus stop

8:45- 10:20 – drove to Massage Envy, had massage. The verdict is that I am tense (less so after).

10:20-11:00 – drove to train station

11:00-11:30 – waited for train (chatted with husband by phone, checked email, etc.)

11:30- 12:50 – took Amtrak to NYC, read on train. I meant to work but I was having a hard time motivating myself.

12:50-1:20 – subway to Grand Central area

1:20 -2:45 – had lunch with two people from a publication I write for. We sat outside on Vanderbilt Avenue. It was nice! We only talked work for a few minutes at the end. I think that’s the best kind of business lunch.

2:45-3:20 – walked around Grand Central area, then took subway down to Madison Square Park

3:20-4:20 – met a college friend for drinks at the pop-up beer garden next to the park. It was great to catch up and take advantage of the extremely pleasant weather. One of the things I miss, not living in NYC, is the plethora of public spaces and people watching. She and her family were doing well, and I heard all about her new business.

4:20 – 5 – traveled downtown to 225 Liberty Street (Time Inc building) for the Princeton University Press Club board meeting.

5-5:20 (seriously) – Time Inc security. A bunch of us showed up at once and it was like a TSA line. Kind of ridiculous. It is a normal office building, not the Pentagon.

5:20-8 – board meeting. We discussed the club’s performance this year, what the students are up to, and various ethical issues. There have been issues of students participating in protests and then wanting to write news articles about the protests. This is a pretty big journalistic no-no, though some of the more draconian ethics ideas they had would have disqualified me from club membership many years ago. I wrote opinion columns all through college. I tend to feel that everyone has an opinion and it is better to be transparent about it, so readers can draw their own conclusions. But others disagreed. Anyway, stuff to think about.

8-8:30 – cab to Penn Station.

8:30 – 9:15 – worked in the Amtrak waiting area. I decided to buy a ticket for the Acela because the price wasn’t much different (sometimes it is vs. the regional) and it was supposed to get in earlier. Then, as I was sitting there, my train got increasingly delayed. The regional took off quite a bit before us. Sigh. It’s going to be another late night. I love going to New York, but the trip home is often brutal.

Are you still tracking time? Great! Weekends can make it harder to stick with the program, but given that weekends are a big part of life — and when the majority of many people’s discretionary time occurs — it’s important to keep going. You can do this!

4 thoughts on “168 Hours Time Tracking Challenge Day 5

  1. Envious of how close your NYC train is! I know we picked where we live for various reasons but we’re a 15ish hour train ride away from New York, quick afternoon trips definitely aren’t possible for us!

  2. Hi Laura, Thanks for sharing 🙂 my nights and mornings often look the same, including husband saying daft things and me getting angry. Good to know we’re not alone 🙂

    1. Made that remark right after reading first paragraphs. Now chuckling about the verdict that you’re tense. Big surprise 🙂 I am so with you in your busy-ness, but fear it will last longer for me since my kids are younger than yours… sigh.

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