“I wish I had more time for reading.”
“I wish I had more time for yoga.”
“I wish I had more time for running.”
“I wish I had more time for free time, movies, TV, thinking.”
Sound familiar? Yeah, me too, and it took taking a week off, including 36 hours of unplugged time (well, minus the occasional 3G signal on my phone that I mostly ignored) to realize that if I actually did want to read more, do more yoga, run more miles, watch more movies, and think more original thoughts, then by God, I was going to have to stop talking about it and actually do something about it.
“Do something about it” for me, meant changing my schedule.
I thought long and hard about the things I truly wanted to prioritize: running, yoga, creative side projects, input from books and movies (I most love memoirs and documentaries), and “open mental space.”
In her best-selling book, The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin describes having one empty shelf somewhere in your house as the “ultimate de-cluttering goal” (or something to that effect) because it basically says that everything you own has its own place, and that there’s room for new and interesting pieces/things to come into your life.
I wanted the same thing for my mental space. To have room for new ideas and creativity and not be overwhelmed by the amount of information I was absorbing and the amount of “things” on my plate.
So, after a 36-hour no-WiFi train ride, followed by a mostly Internet-free week (with a couple of exceptions so I could stay on top of a couple of things), I decided that if I truly wanted a lifestyle that made more room for new ideas and activities, that I was going to have to actually, physically change something about my schedule as I knew it — one that felt like it was controlling me, rather than the other way around.
So, what did I do?
I sat down on Tuesday morning, the first day back from the week off, and wrote out what my “ideal” day looked like. It looks like this:
- 6am-7am: Wake up. Run or take a shower (depending on whether it was a run day or cross-training/rest day).
- 7am: Coffee, journal and/or books of the moment (right now, The Happiness Project and Born to Run)
- 8am: Breakfast and emails.
- 9am – 5pm: Client work, creative work, etc. Lunch break for errands, food, etc. Minimize eating lunch at my desk.
- 5pm: Wrap up work, switch to housework/break/yoga
- 9pm: Laptop closed, book, movie or journal
- 10pm: Lights out
The most important pieces of this are the first three hours and the last hour. By allowing myself a set amount of time each day for things that I deem personal priorities (fitness, reading, and journaling), I’m much more focused, much more productive, and much more creative during the hours of the workday.
Also, a good nights’ rest means I wake up without an alarm (GLORIOUS), early in the morning (I love mornings), and have plenty of time for things like running and breakfast and catching up on the news or trade publications.
And because I know that that wanting, feeling, and thinking aren’t enough — when we truly want something, we have to commit to actually, physically doing something about it. Action is, after all, about as clear as we can get when we want to put it out there that we want something, right?
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Love this! If I was a morning person, I would totally wake up with enough time to do all of those things in the first three hours of my day. Instead, I tack it on at the end, which makes for a pretty late night (or not getting them done at all). Still hoping to find a solution and strike a balance!
Thanks for the inspiration, as usual!
I love this… Having an office 9-5 (more like 8-6!) makes this kind of schedule a bit more difficult but I can definitely be better about keeping track of my free time and doing things I want to do. Ever since moving to my new apartment I haven’t had cable, so I don’t just come home from work and mindlessly turn the tv on. It’s been nice to realize I’m tired at 10, get in bed and read until I fall asleep! Now if only I could wake up without hitting snooze for an hour…
SAME PROBLEM. Literally, I hit snooze for an HOUR. Don’t I realize that if I’m going to waste that much time, I’d be much better off just setting the alarm for an hour later in the first place???
I do not miss cable for that very reason! I love to watch shows sometimes, but do so on Hulu or Netflix so there’s much less “surfing” and I’m in much more control over the input
Ok, I love this. I think sitting down and plotting out an ideal day is a wonderful idea that I will have to do myself. Thanks for the inspiration!
LOVE it! I actually journaled about this exact subject two nights ago, and made a list of the things I need to ACTUALLY COMMIT to changing in order to achieve the level of energy and productivity I want in my life right now. The first thing on the list was “commit to a schedule that works for me.” And that schedule also involved getting up earlier so that I could fit “me” time into my morning, show up to work already awake, and then come home and go to bed earlier so I could do it again the next day.
Wavelength, my dear friend (whose beautiful face I have not seen NEARLY enough of in the past month, can’t wait to see you this evening, amen). Wavelength. We share one.
Ooh! Let’s spend the majority of HH tonight discussing how awesome our shared wavelength is
I have been feeling the same “I need to put my money where my mouth is” pressure lately. This is a great idea — planning out the ideal day. I think I am hesitant to do it for the fear of never actually following through on it the way I want to, but I have to start somewhere, right?! Thanks for the post!
I love how you say the beginning and end are so important. I agree. How we start our day and end our day, are the seals that close it up and let us begin fresh.
love this and love giving yourself some flexibility as well. i think i really just need to get back into the habit of not hitting snooze on my alarm and my days would go a lot better or more productive at least, haha.
i just had a very similar revaluation. yesterday i worked through my calendar and put on all the stuff i needed to do, like work and drive to work and eat and sleep and then made sure i left ~20% of the hours in each day free for reading and projects and playing. i read the happiness project in july and then i went on vacation in august and when i got home from vacation i actually cried because i felt like i was shocked back into “real life” where i didn’t have any free time. so i made sure i had free time and i made sure to give myself permission to use that time to do whatever i wanted.
this. i so needed this. also, you are currently reading two of my favorite non-fiction books ever. they both changed my life immensely.
Good stuff!
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. When I finally sat down a few months ago and tracked my time, I realized how much I was losing to internetting and TV. I’ve cut down on both, and suddenly, I’ve got more quality time with Andrew, more reading time, exercise time, etc. It’s amazing what happens when you prioritize. Great post.
LOVE that idea of an empty shelf in your life and in your mind. SO important! Thanks for the inspiration as always!
I need to do this too. My problem is that I end up staying up way too late, so then my mornings are wasted.
Thank you for shating this. Going to go think about how I can prioritize and make more time for some solitude.
I find this post super inspiring. Need to tweak my own schedule.
Great post, Doni!
Last week I found myself re-evaluating my life/schedule as well.
I hate always being connected and feeling like I’m missing on valuable moments.
When I get home from work, computer is OFF. I’m trying to limit my freelance work to Sunday evenings only to make more time for reading, playing and sewing midweek.
Excellent idea, Doniree! I’m finding myself on the laptop until I go to bed and I’ve been wanting to change that. Then I go to bed and I’m on my iPod playing “Words with Friends” for an hour. I need a more set schedule and I think it’s best to start one. I’m not working at the moment, but setting a schedule is great for when I’m back working.
I love this post and find myself struggling with the same issues. I keep wanting to do more, but more often than not, I’m all talk. I’ve gotten better recently, by disallowing excuses, and the changes I’ve made are making me so much happier in my life and bod. This post inspires me to push for more and to cut out more of the useless and unnecessary noise in my life.
Great post! I was directed here through Amy (just a titch)’s blog and can totally relate to this post. I need to just plan out my ideal day and do my absolute best to follow it. That is a GREAT idea and I think I may do that sometime this week because it’s got me feeling so inspired!
Hi, Melissa! Glad to have you here
Good luck with your planning and doing!
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