# Making Time Your Bitch - Time Management Thread



## Winspear (Aug 23, 2013)

Hey guys  I've been working very hard this year on maximizing productivity and making sure I never feel like I've wasted time. Thought a thread where we could discuss such things was a cool idea 
People are always saying that there is not enough time in the day, that they want to do too many things, etc. It's really easy to let this idea get you down, but the truth is many people do not make an effort to improve the situation. I am really content these days with how I am managing my time and wanted to share one huge tip:
Time EVERYTHING that you do.
Everything. Sounds obsessive (and it probably is), but I've found it to be incredibly helpful.

It's so so easy to feel like you have no control of time and not nearly enough to do everything that you want, but bring the maths in and you'll likely see a huge chunk of time that you nevet knew you had.
Begin with the 168 hour week and take away all of the routine necessities you can think of. Timing and organising these on a regular basis can really help you optimize. Setting bedtimes and alarms on days that you don't need them will help reduce unnecessary sleep and make you feel much more driven and energetic.
By timing necessary activities you'll notice the blocks of time that you never manage to use efficiently. By knowing they are there and assigning something specific and measurable to do, you could find you end up with an extra 4 hours guitar practice or something every week.
I've found I can set myself goals for various activities to achieve every week, and in meeting them still have plenty of time left to do things like playing games or browsing facebook without feeling like that time should have been better spent.
On top of an almost full time job I'm consistently getting in 30+ hours of music, 6 hours in the gym, 10 developing my own business, time to chill with friends, and many hours left messing about on the computer. Every week. And it feels great. Before I started managing my time like this, I could easily reach the end of the week and not really be sure what I'd achieved aside from maybe 10 hours of writing or so, with distractions. Granted I have a very empty schedule outside of my job but the same applies. Do the math and you really wonder where time goes, but track it and you'll be shocked at how much of it you throw away - I guarantee it, no matter how legitimately busy you may be.
So go - learn to live alongside the notepad and stopwatch and make time your bitch


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## Captain Shoggoth (Aug 23, 2013)

I had a disappointing AS year (final grades BBCD) and my fitness and strength has been poor too (bigger but fatter, objectively stronger but relatively weaker) and I'm really trying to figure out how to fit everything in this year with shittons of work to do for A2s and retakes.

I think this may actually be a big help-I needed to see this right now. Thanks.


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## TRENCHLORD (Aug 23, 2013)

Beats the hell out of sitting around complaining about never having the time for this or that.
I always hate hearing people bitch about not having the time.
Every so often it's true due to family and/or health issues, but 98% of the time it's a motivation issue (which I'm plenty guilty of myself), not a time problem.


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## Maniacal (Aug 24, 2013)

Agreed. I have been living by the timer for years, it is a great way to achieve many things. It allows me time to work, practice 3 instruments, eat 6 meals a day, go to the gym 5 times a week, read books, compose and still have time left over. 

I set alarms for eating and always practice everything to a timer and make notes of my progress. 

I also eliminated all junk food, gaming, TV and socialising.


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## kung_fu (Aug 24, 2013)

Excellent thread idea! I am a man of many hobbies and interests and i've found it quite difficult to juggle them. More often than not, my typical day is work > prepare/eat dinner > workout (every other day) > sleep. The time in between these things usually gets eaten up by bullshit (aimless internet surfing). I've always loved the idea of being organized, but haven't put in the work to get there. Time to change that


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## Murmel (Aug 24, 2013)

Maniacal said:


> Agreed. I have been living by the timer for years, it is a great way to achieve many things. It allows me time to work, practice 3 instruments, eat 6 meals a day, go to the gym 5 times a week, read books, compose and still have time left over.
> 
> I set alarms for eating and always practice everything to a timer and make notes of my progress.
> 
> I also eliminated all junk food, gaming, TV and socialising.


I personally wouldn't disregard socialising completely just so I could be more cultivated in the musical arts. People generally make you more happy in the end than anything else, as long as they aren't dicks.

But whatever floats your boat.


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## Mexi (Aug 25, 2013)

Maniacal said:


> I also eliminated all junk food, gaming, TV and socialising.



not sure I'd equate junk food with socializing. we're social animals by nature and I think spending time with other people is one of the most important aspects of being human. If anything, socializing should make your life better and not feel like a time sink; if it doesn't then you need better friends.

edit: on topic though, I've recently tried to organize my life better after spending years just not giving a shit. Even small changes of having an established routine of work/exercise can help break days down into blocks of time to just be productive, haha


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## Winspear (Aug 26, 2013)

Yeah, socializing is important of course. I definitely do limit it though. One evening a week is enough, and I'll often go without that given I see my friends at the gym too. I certainly don't let myself get caught down at the pub every couple of nights with them though haha  I expect it seems way less important if you have a family too.
Do be sure to post back on how things go if you are considering organizing your time better!


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## Oneirokritikos (Aug 26, 2013)

Im a big fan of self-quantification- find a way to rate/measure your activities for initial assessment (time spent, level reached, weight lifted, words written, metronome speed - anything !) then evaluate whatever productivity hack youre trying against that base. Progress can only be made and felt when measured. And daily self-rating gives immediate feedback and confidence boost ! Use graphs and pie charts liberally.Mmmm, pie...


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## Ralyks (Aug 30, 2013)

I definitely need this. I work 30 hours a week at my job (while trying to persue a 40 hour position) as well as a few days a week doing work at my dads office, I practice Jiu Jitsu and try to get at least 2 nights at 2 hours a week, Going to the gym at least an hour 3 - 4 times a week, taking 2 online courses, and of course, writing and playing music. And I live in the middle of nowhere so it's at least a half hour to drive anywhere, so commuting is a big part of my time.

Actually, writing that paragraph just now at least helped me break down all the things that take priority, so I guess thats a start


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## Winspear (Sep 1, 2013)

^ Definitely. Simply making a list can be a huge step


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## Fiction (Sep 1, 2013)

I work 50-60 hour weeks and still manage to socialize 3 times a week, spend atleast 4-5 hours a week playing guitar, exercise several hours and get some me time, to just lay back and watch Frasier 

Mainly why I don't post here too much anymore, maybe its time we give sso a little bit of a break


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## Winspear (Sep 2, 2013)

Fiction said:


> Mainly why I don't post here too much anymore, maybe its time we give sso a little bit of a break



Yeah I try and limit myself to 7 hours max on the internet over the week now, which is still a lot I guess. Less time hanging out in String threads for sure  It was quite shocking when I started timing things to notice I would easily spend 15-25 hours on the internet every week!


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## troyguitar (Sep 3, 2013)

Work + commuting = 12 hours per day
sleep = 8 hours per day
exercise = 1 hour per day
showering/grooming/etc. = 1 hour per day
food related crap = 1 hour per day
house work = 1 hour per day

There is no time for socializing, music, gaming, relaxing, etc. unless it's a weekend or holiday.


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## Winspear (Sep 3, 2013)

Damn dude  
Do you think you could cut down the last 3? House work in particular seems excessive to spend an hour a day. Hell, every day at all even - but granted I have never had a full house to take care of myself and my standards aren't super high  In a 1 bedroom flat I was happy with 1 hour a week. Always did dishes immediately after preparing food so it took minutes and I didn't consider I had to ever 'do dishes'. Apart from that, hoovering the 3 rooms and a scrub of the bathroom and kitchen was enough  

But aye, this can still help you get the most out of your weekends  It's very easy for a free day to slip away


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## troyguitar (Sep 3, 2013)

Yeah I typically spend less on the last 3 due to being lazy, that's how much time I'd spend ideally (House work is never ending as soon as you buy one). Instead I waste 1-2 hours each night sitting around doing nothing 

I've been working on some multi-tasking stuff though, like eating breakfast in the car on the way to work and practicing singing in the car on my way home from work. Once I even tried walking on the treadmill while playing guitar and watching an episode of Top Gear... triple tasking ftw


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## Winspear (Jan 30, 2014)

Thought I would mention a really good app I found! It's called Activity Log Pro (just a couple $, there is a free version but it doesn't allow data analysis).
Allows you to just push an icon on your phone whenever you start an activity - then you can analyse them in a pie chart etc whenever you fancy. I've been running mine 24/7 through a fairly productive week - Looking forward to checking out what I did right and what I did wrong


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## skeels (Jan 30, 2014)

Work, plus getting ready, commuting, etc. = 12 hours
Domestic stuff (fooding, cleaning, etc.) = 1.5 hours
Kids = 5 hours
Repairing things/maintenance = 2.5 hours
Guitar related crud (including SSO and trying to find things I have misplaced in my shop) = 2 hours
Laying there in the dark wondering why I am so tired = 1 hour


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## Sebastian (Feb 1, 2014)

Great thread!
I actually started writing down all(almost) my activities in a calendar, and I "try" to keep things organized, still due to unforeseen circumstances it's hard to plan a day/week and I often fail miserably  especially at working out/exercising and meeting friends... 

I really like what Arnold once said:
"I've always figured out there is 24 hours a day, you sleep 6 hours and have 18 hours left. I know some of you out there now say 'but wait a minute I sleep 8 hours or 9 hours' then just sleep faster I would recommend" 

at 3:31


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## The Reverend (Feb 1, 2014)

I'm not sure I want to know how much time I waste. I do need to manage my time better, though. There's a lot of things I want to do, and literally not enough time to do them, but I'm confident that if I actually made a schedule, I could get most of them down. Maybe I'll have to rotate some activities, but f--k it.


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## Winspear (Feb 2, 2014)

The Reverend said:


> I'm not sure I want to know how much time I waste. I do need to manage my time better, though. There's a lot of things I want to do, and literally not enough time to do them, but I'm confident that if I actually made a schedule, I could get most of them down. Maybe I'll have to rotate some activities, but f--k it.



It's not nice to realize but you _do_ want to know, so you can start making the most of the limited time we have  I don't think we can ever have enough time to do what we want to do (unless you are a very uninteresting, unambitious and easily bored person), but we can get much closer when we realize how all the little amounts of time add up.

Maybe don't make a schedule. I'm not making a schedule anymore, because I figure I don't always want to do X thing when I've told myself I'm going to do it. And what if I'm motivated to do Y when I'm meant to be doing X? So I let myself be free in what I'm doing now, but look back on the week to get a general idea on how to improve next time. The app I mentioned is going to be great for this


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## Winspear (Feb 3, 2014)

Ok so this weeks breakdown is in! I'm going to post it here to name and shame and motivate myself 
Roughly:
56 hours sleeping
30 hours at my job
13 hours socializing
16 hours music
32 hours internet
3 hours research
3 hours running my business
4 hours gym
3 hours showering etc
2 hours eating
1 hour commuting
2 hours driving

This is exactly the kind of thing that's useful to see and reminds me how much I am can slack off on the internet  I have no commute and work little hours yet still only managed 16 hours of music this week. 
I was getting 30-40 in as a _student_ with the same job too, when I was more strict.
Looking forward to getting back to that level of productivity  Who's with me?

Also it's awful to see on the pie chart that having slept an ordinary 8 hours each day and having only a 30 hour work week, that's 50% of my time gone. 50% working and sleeping. The reality of life is...pretty disgusting haha. I presume most of you work and commute much more than this - so even more reason to make the most of your time!


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