I spent just about all of today coming up with a micro-management system
for my free time, and the avocations I currently pursue, or that I want
to. I'm hoping it will generate an over-all productivity boost for
those things. The idea here is simple: I've blocked out all of my
possible free time in 1/2 hour intervals -- filling it up entirely with
the many and varied interests and projects that I've either already
taken on and have yet to make much progress in, or new ones that I
intend to take on soon. They are scheduled multiple times throughout
the week, and often, throughout the day, but always at different times
from day-to-day. I don't have to follow the schedule if I don't want
to, or if I have unforeseen obligations, but if I DO have a free moment,
then I check the schedule and work on what's listed there, if I can. My
thought is that, over the course of a week, I ought to have put at least
SOME time in on ALL of the projects, as opposed to working on one or
two, in fits and starts -- often with a long gap in between -- and
letting all the rest fall by the wayside entirely. The amount of time
scheduled rarely adds up to very much per day, but it may well turn out
to be MORE than I'm managing now by the end of a week, since, hitherto,
I've been more-or-less following my whims and the vagaries of chance.
That chance generally refers to a desperate grasp at the free moments as
they come, and an equally panicked attempt to shoehorn a current passion
in before either something interrupts me or my energy flags.
I can, and fully intend to, alter the schedule as I go -- smoothing it
out, rearranging it, and replacing old projects with new ones as I
either complete them, or lose interest. I'm calling this my Shotgun
Schedule, because I've scattered my projects over the week in tiny
pieces. And while my progress may seem slow from day to day, taken as a
whole, the week will prove to be more productive, more interesting, and
less stressful. In theory. And, I don't know about you, but NOT
getting a chance to work on those things that I like -- my hobbies or
passions -- tends to stress me out. I'll keep you updated -- which
should be easy, since I've included phlogging in my Shotgun pattern as
well. And, even if this flops for me, even if it goes no where and does
nothing, I'm enjoying the idea right now, which is reason-enough to
pursue it, don't you think?
