The Unbearable Necessity of Time Constraints

Today I have realised something about myself, which as really come to light in this brave new world of unemployment. I need targets. I need constraints on my time.

When I was working I would always find a way of meeting my work targets and fit in the requirements of my day to day life. However, without the constraints on my time I am finding that I am fitting in less than what I would have done when I was working.

Allowing for an eight hour day at work (including lunch time) and a good eight hours sleep at night, I had eight hours for life. Eight hours to fit in what I needed to do, what I wanted to do. Now I have sixteen hours a day to do what I want, and I am finding that I am doing little with my time.

I was always looking forward forward to having a break from the nine to five after I was made redundant. The idea was to spend this break between jobs to do some of the stuff that I wanted, to concentrate on me. However, I am finding that with all the extra time that I have I am not doing so. I am now approaching the end of month two and I have not done half the things that I wanted to do.

I am reading but not as much as I could. My daily TV watching is just backing up, when I used to be on top of it. I have not been as active over the last couple of weeks, compared to how I was when I first became unemployed. I have written nothing, even though the aim was to do so.

I have realised that I am basically just adrift, wandering like the proverbial cloud. What I need again is constraints upon my time. I need to force myself to do the things that I wanted to do with my time whilst I was between jobs.

And this is what I need to now distill back into my life. I need to set myself targets. I need to focus more on what I wanted to do.

Firstly, I need to become more active again. I had done so well previously with getting rid of some weight but this as now stopped. I need to get back to doing a few hours worth of walking again. I need to get myself out and about earlier than I have been doing. I need to push myself into being more active.

Secondly, I need to pick up the speed on the reading. I am now going to alternate between fiction and non-fiction/academic books. During the day whilst I am out I am going to read a non-fiction book, and one hour every night before bed I am going to read a fiction book.

Thirdly, I need to focus on clearing that backlog of comics that I have to read. I am probably about a month and a half behind. I need to get back on top of this so that I am back to reading the weeks comic buy in the week that I buy them.

Fourthly, I need to start writing. I had an idea for a series of short stories before I finished work. I need to focus on trying to get these stories down on paper (well, computer screen anyway). This might be one of the hardest things to do. I am going to aim to have written the first of the stories within the next two weeks. Hopefully after the first one is done the others will come a lot easier.

Fifthly, I need to really focus on getting the flat sorted. I am not happy with the layout of the rooms and will needed to spend some time moving things around until I am happy. I think this will be best done after my travel pass as run out. Maybe a week of solid focus on this front will get it sorted.

Sixthly, I need to get the TV backlog sorted and stop putting off watching things. This definitely includes the new Prisoner which I need to get up the enthusiasm to watch. By the end of next week this will be done.

So, that is the plan. Six things to do. Six things to put constraints on my time. Six things to focus on. Six things to achieve.