Worst Time Killers

SpiderGal · Jul 13, 2007

I know, I know procrastination is your answer, but hey, what about things that we don't have much control over? Standing in lines? Commuting in bus? I wasted a total of eight hours in the last two days standing in line for college admissions. :rant:

Both my days were completely wasted, and I got nothing written. And I was supposed to write about 1000 words on both days. This made me so mad that I have decided to develop a time management model.(OK, I have no plans to compete with Tony Robbins, but heck, I can write an article, can't I? :tongue

). And it's the only thing I am going to talk about for a few days. Please bear with me. :Hug2:

So, the more examples and case studies I have, the better. So, what are your top time killers? You could refer to specific things you do. And next you need to tell me, what sort of interruptions you face that derail your schedule? For example, I hate power cuts, which are so common in my part of the world. And third, what other activities (like commuting in bus, standing in lines) nibble at your time?

I promise to share my thesis!

Mandy-Jane · Jul 13, 2007

I hate being stuck behind a slow driver and there being nowhere to pass. It adds time onto the trip and it always happens when I have to be somewhere on time!

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jul 13, 2007

Where's the 'AW' option?

Or is that in the 'Procrastination' camp?

SpiderGal · Jul 13, 2007

Righto. Procrastination camp. Gosh, I am wasting time -- again!

Ol' Fashioned Girl · Jul 13, 2007

Got it. Vote duly recorded.

wyntermoon · Jul 13, 2007

I'll answer in a minute.

SpiderGal · Jul 16, 2007

bump!

Marlys · Jul 16, 2007

I'd remove "daydreaming" from the list, since that's where my material comes from. But otherwise, yeah. I have no power over the internet. I go on just to check my mail, and the next thing I know it's time for lunch. It sucks my creative energy like a...like a...like a big thingy that sucks your creative energy.

willwrite4food · Jul 17, 2007

Obsessively checking e-mail, and, lately, checking out all the celebrity gossip websites. I have no clue why I find them so fascinating, but they can take up an hour of my time before I know it.

Damn Perez Hilton and TMZ!

zahra · Jul 17, 2007

I know you're probably going to laugh, cos my colleagues do, but I throw a minor tantrum when I have to go to the loo (go pee, in American). Especially when I'm at work cos the loo's further away than at home.

Soccer Mom · Jul 17, 2007

Playing games. Obsessive email checker, but then again I have a lot of stuff on submission, so I have to check every three seconds right?

brb.

Anyway, after that, AW sucks my time, but it also gives back to my writing in information and encouragement, so I call that a wash.

Speaking of wash....laundry, dishes, mopping.....blech! TIme sucks.

benbradley · Jul 17, 2007

Worst Time Killer.

reenkam · Jul 17, 2007

I think daily life's the worst. That's always when I come up with an idea, but I'm not prepared to record it. And the trains...wow, I can't stand them because all writing becomes chicken scratch and you can only write about a word a minute. And the amount of time spent on the train is ridiculous. Where's a portkey when you need it? Seriously...

BardSkye · Jul 17, 2007

I leave at about 9:15 in the morning to get to work by (usually) 10:45. Most of that time is spent waiting for bus connections. Most of the time there are too many distractions (people talking, loud music) to concentrate on writing during the commute. Same thing going home. So there's 3 hours a day wasted.

SpiderGal · Jul 17, 2007

Soccer Mom said:
Playing games. Obsessive email checker, but then again I have a lot of stuff on submission, so I have to check every three seconds right?

Yep, it's OK. I do it too. :tongue

Ruth Barringham · Jul 18, 2007

I find that just day-to-day things suck my time away like cooking, washing, dog walking, cleaning. But then again I think it's me that makes the jobs longer, like when I feel sorry for the dogs because they look bored so I take them for an extra long walk, or I decide to go all-out and cook a fabulous dinner and when I'm cleaning I'll notice something that looks a bit grubby so I'll tackle it and next thing I know I'm washing down walls.

But I just hate to do things by half and I'm not satisfied unless I do things properly, like I can't sit and write if the dishes aren't done, even if it's just a few cups and spoons sitting in the sink. Or if I see a few marks on the floor tiles I'll get the mop out, and I daren't go in the garage because the floor in there always looks like it needs sweeping. And when I shop I have to inspect all the ingredients of what I'm buying and see which is the most natural or has less sugar or salt and then I compare the prices.

IY-YI-YI!!!! No wonder time always gets away from me.

Billingsgate · Jul 19, 2007

Drilling.

We're renovating our house, and because I don't trust any of our contractors to put things in straight or consistent, I have to put up all the curtain rods, the shower stalls, the towel racks and mirrors, the speaker wall-mounts, etc., all in concrete and brick walls. The more I procrastinate the drilling jobs, the more it drags out and the less writing work I get done.

Bonus side to this: I can moan to my wife about getting no work done and for once she's sympathetic.

JayCaps · Aug 18, 2007

procrastination... it's the worst..i've lost 2 hours per day with that. But all this came from bad planning of the day and we don't do that.

2 weeks ago, my dad suggested a program to track all this and remind me not to spend all day on nothings.

The app is nice and friendly, i manage my writings in categories, my blog posts and i plan the whole day. The worst part was that i don't syncronize the real time with the scheduled time from the program, again the procrastination was the problem, you can control it very hard, but i manged this in the end.. just need some 'training'...today i'm almost syncronized with the time from the computer.

Ah, not to forget, the app is called uOrganized i think this is the website www.veetosoft.com with 2 or 1 e

yes, it's correct

Skyraven · Aug 18, 2007

Hi Spidergal,

the worst time killer for me is my regular job. I work as an a/p clerk paying bills all day. If i want to write anything, I have to wait until lunch time. It agony waiting until the time I can write. Arg! ;(P

ALLWritety · Aug 19, 2007

Mostly checking email & posting/checking AW.

I try not to write at home coz it is near impossible due to the wife and kids.

Kevvers

misslissy · Aug 19, 2007

I think the worst time killer for me is also procrastination. I spend so much time thinking and not doing. It's a real problem for me.

But then, when I finally do stop procrastinating, it's things I can't help. It seems as soon as I'm finally sitting down to work on something, everyone in the world is calling me, because I don't get a lot of phone calls normally. And then my mom needs help. And then my little sister can't find the dictionary. It's quite frustrating. I have enough trouble working on my own!

scarletpeaches · Aug 19, 2007

Emails. MSN and googlechat. This damn place. ARGH!!!

Azraelsbane · Aug 19, 2007

When I moved back to the States a few years back, I didn't have phone, tv, or internet for a week. I thought I would die. Instead, I reread my First & Second semester Japanese texts and did every last exercise in the books.

That was when I realized just how much of a timesink those three technological advancements manage to be.

JayCaps · Aug 19, 2007

an idea to stop procrastination, put your tasks on program like uOranized or any other program.Before starting a task set them to remind you 10-15 minutes before and if your app suports snooze just set them to remind you again every minunte(with sound). The alarm will stop your procrastination and will be prepared for the task and it's a good training method.

Another way to save time is to schedule your day, automate email checking (i made that and works- i use uOrganized for that, it has an option to open a program or document at a specified time), make a to do list(most important tasks first) and try to accomplish them at time.

You wont succed to be organized in the first day, but in 5 you can be.

You will learn and get used to it very quick, you just need to want to.

I recommend uOrganized to start because is easy to use and they have some nice features, but I saw on the site the product i now 25$, my dad bought his license with 15$, i think they had some promotion, i 'll post here if i found the source

JayCaps · Aug 19, 2007

hehe guys, i found the source, my dad bought it with a discount coupon
i don't know if i'm allowed to post it here, but i will do that

i've tested it and works, but don't know for how much time, you get 10$ off

www.veetosoft.com

this is the coupon:8756897

Worst Time Killers

What are your top time killers?

Things you can control: Procrastination, daydreaming, obsessively checking e-mail

Things you can't control: Interruptions from family members, phone calls, pet's whining

Necessary evils of daily life: Commuting in bus, standing in lines, power cuts

Spouse!

Princess of Nerds

venturing ever further into the unknown

Hand? What hand?

Princess of Nerds

Hand? What hand?

Princess of Nerds

Resist. Love. Go outside.

Was Zahra; lost profile - REBORN!

Crypto-fascist

It's a doggy dog world

aka cupcake

Barbershoppin' Harmony Whore

Princess of Nerds

Still writing

Disappointment to my mother

JayCaps

What happened to my LIFE?!

One Step closer, I hope!

Only a sassbucket sometimes.

Agony is defeat

JayCaps

JayCaps