How do you manage and experience time? 01-08 April 2021
- there has been lots to do at work recently so time has been flowing erratically for me: some moments go slowly (clock barely moves…) while others fly (“it’s 11a already?!”). much of the time, my motivation comes from keeping tabs on the deadlines of my various projects and scheduled events (like meetings and instruction sessions).
- at home, i’ve felt crunched a bit more than usual but some of the time at home is almost always that way due to my having to juggle meals, relaxation/rec time, and home improvement/chores/gardening.
- i use various strategies to keep myself on track. the one most central is setting alarms: in personal and work-related online calendars and on my phone’s clock. if i set alerts/alarms/notices when i am thinking of something that needs to be done, i can then forget it and live more in the now rather than constantly rehearsing and fretting over what i have to do when.
- punctuality? punctuality is essential for my job. i have to maintain a certain level of disciplined time management in order to manage each day in general and specific tasks in particular. however, most of my job, as i stated above, involves moving projects towards deadlines.
- my desire to have certain things in my life a certain way, to accomplish certain things in a certain amount of time, and to sustain that means that there is a high percentage of ordinary activities that required planning and this week was no different: when to make dinner and what to make, making time for home maintenance (does the lawn need to be mowed?, does the garbage need to be taken out?, does the car need an oil change?, etc.), giving the cat meds, taking my own, making time for my wife and kids, scheduling getaways, etc. going to the grocery or any kind of store involved checking Google to see what time of day is best to go to avoid crowds because of the pandemic.
- when do i feel pressed? when something unexpected and urgent falls in my lap;
- when do i feel relaxed? weekends and times at work when nothing is scheduled and i can decide what i do when and for how long.
- past, now, or future? i have learned to “spend” as much time as possible in the present because that is where we always are; when planning and analyzing, i do retreat into the past and future musings
- pandemic influence? see above strategy about avoiding crowds but, in general, it hasn’t really affected me this week because my job went back to regular hours in-person last July. my perception of time hasn’t changed much, i don’t think. if anything, my perception of the interpersonal realm has changed in that there seems to be more distance between interactions because of the intermediating tools that act simultaneously as conduit and spacing device like phone calls, online meetings, and all the extra planning and padding needed to just meet with people either in person or remotely to observe pandemic precautions. that has broadened the social experience and slowed it down