Time

I wrote a post at my personal blog last night about my frustration with time and not having enough. Some weeks are nothing but work, eat, sleep, and repeat. I like doing other things, too. :) Trouble is, I have to use time to my advantage and I'm not good at this. I can spend an entire workday promising myself that I will write for an hour when I finally get home and what do I do? Watch a season of "Futurama" on Netflix while dozing off on the sofa with a cat on my lap.

There are a lot of other things I want to do besides work, eat, sleep, and drive. I like reading and comics. I like to write--fiction, blog entries, speeches, and adventures for my HackMaster game. ;) I'm also distracted easil--SQUIRREL!

If left to my own devices, personal projects will go unfinished.

When I started the Competent Communicator (CC) manual, it was easy enough to get that Icebreaker speech on the schedule. "When will you give your Icebreaker?" is a common question for new Toastmasters. After that, I looked at the number of speeches left and wondered if I would ever do them...or if I would only promise myself all day that I would do them...and then watch a season of "How I Met Your Mother..." while dozing off on the sofa with a cat on my lap.

I decided to take a stab at time management by scheduling one CC speech a month. If I wait until inspiration strikes, I'm never going to finish this manual. Knowing there is a speech on Easy-Speak calender for me gives me a little goal to work for. I'm forced to be aware of the time that I have. I'm reminded I have work to do--work that will benefit me. I will learn something about speaking, writing, and scheduling. I will learn a lot more than I will watching a whole season of "Doctor Who" and ...wait, I don't fall asleep during "Doctor Who." I should set aside some time to watch that... :)