Bonnie's excuse of the week
Friday, October 17, 2008
To help organize my thoughts and put all those excuses I've been coming up with to good use, I'll be highlighting one excuse each Friday. This way I can put down in words how I've been sabotaging myself and see how lame these excuses really are.
Hey, it's worth a shot, especially with Nanowrimo around the corner. ;)
"I don't have enough time."
This is a favorite excuse of mine, and one I've used so many times that I should really come up with a catch phrase for it like "my sched's twisted" or "get me to the time store."
There are a lot of us out there without enough time. I know this because of all the time-management books, workshops and consultants that are available to us. Of course, to read the books, take the classes or meet with consultants takes even more time away from the time you don't have, so what's a biz-ay person to do?
Tip #1: Create a time diary.
When you're watching your weight, experts suggest you keep a food diary so that you're aware of the dozen jelly donuts you gorge on every other day. Or, if you're watching your budget, a good plan of action is to track how you're spending your dough. So it makes sense that tracking how you spend your time will illustrate just where the heck your hours are going.
Of course, I haven't done this because I'm afraid I'll learn how much America's Next Top Model and I Wanna Work for Diddy are affecting my schedule. Word.
Tip #2: Be realistic with how long it takes to do things.
This is a big one for me, as I always estimate that it will take me about half the time to mow the lawn, revise an article or make a new recipe from scratch. Yet I'm a master at starting things at 9:00 at night, thinking I'll get it done by the time the late-night news is on.
Sigh. I'd go into more detail, but I gotta get me to the time store. LOL
Is this one of your main excuses? How do you work around it?
Hey, it's worth a shot, especially with Nanowrimo around the corner. ;)
"I don't have enough time."
This is a favorite excuse of mine, and one I've used so many times that I should really come up with a catch phrase for it like "my sched's twisted" or "get me to the time store."
There are a lot of us out there without enough time. I know this because of all the time-management books, workshops and consultants that are available to us. Of course, to read the books, take the classes or meet with consultants takes even more time away from the time you don't have, so what's a biz-ay person to do?
Tip #1: Create a time diary.
When you're watching your weight, experts suggest you keep a food diary so that you're aware of the dozen jelly donuts you gorge on every other day. Or, if you're watching your budget, a good plan of action is to track how you're spending your dough. So it makes sense that tracking how you spend your time will illustrate just where the heck your hours are going.
Of course, I haven't done this because I'm afraid I'll learn how much America's Next Top Model and I Wanna Work for Diddy are affecting my schedule. Word.
Tip #2: Be realistic with how long it takes to do things.
This is a big one for me, as I always estimate that it will take me about half the time to mow the lawn, revise an article or make a new recipe from scratch. Yet I'm a master at starting things at 9:00 at night, thinking I'll get it done by the time the late-night news is on.
Sigh. I'd go into more detail, but I gotta get me to the time store. LOL
Is this one of your main excuses? How do you work around it?
Labels: excuse of the week, ideas, writing
posted by Bonnie Staring at 10:20 AM
7 Comments:
Hopefully creating a time diary doesn't eat up too much spare time ;)
And hopefully reading my pointless comments won't eat up too much time.
My excuse is not writing because its not the perfect time. I have to learn to write at any time, on the drop of a dime.
I blame my kids.
Then again, Kelley Armstrong has kids and she managed to get herself on the NYT Bestseller list.
So it must be the cats.
s william: There's no such thing as a pointless comment! And "the perfect time" is an excuse I know far too well -- and a perfect one to talk about next Friday. ;)
wylie: Hmm, you could be right about the cat thing. My cat, Zaphod, is so demanding, especially when he's asleep. LOL
I don't have a cat, I have kids but can't blame them. So I blame ... my husband? LOL!
I've learned that "not enough time" really means "not a priority." So, for me, a priority diary works better than a time diary.
Hey Bonnie - I'm doing Nano too, friend me if you like - my user name is Nienke (how original eh?)
Amy: Blame him at your own risk; I know those DHs can get kind of particular with us writer-girls. ;)
Well hello Nienke! I'd totally friend you if I dare go down that slippery "spending more time on the forums than writing" slope. Hmm, maybe I will. LOL
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