Time Study Results

Do you remember, WAAAY back to last Saturday when I started talking about how I use my time? I decided to do an informal time study to see where I could change some routines and make better use of my time. (Here's the link to the post, if you want to read and catch up.) Well, I did complete my little chart and what I found was pretty interesting. I was awake longer than I thought I would be (still not grown-up bedtimes, but later than infant bedtimes!), but I was actually in bed very early every night except for Wednesday where I had to work a VERY long day and didn't get to my home until after I am usually snoring away.

What does this tell me? That I am tired. Of course, I already knew that, but this really did exemplify that my job is wearing my body out. I have some work to do to make myself more prone to being out of my bed rather than crawling back to recline. Maybe it is time to get some different seating to encourage me to remain up and out of my favorite comfortable spot - my bed. 

I am going to repeat this process for next week - another time study of my weekday evening hours - to see if I can make an active change. I'm doing this because I've managed to change up my morning routine to something that keeps me here at home a bit more rather than going to work extremely early. Since that particular routine is going well (except for on inclement weather days), I've decided it is time to use my evening time a bit more purposefully - AKA: less lounging on the bed and more work towards my professional goals in the evenings.

I use this type of format and time study for my professional life - it is a bit more natural for me to focus on time management as a professional music therapist than it is as just plain old Mary Jane. I don't spend as much time or energy on using my "off-time" because I figure that time is not necessarily "on-time." It is time to be more intentional and get to grown-up bedtimes!

So, what do I do with this information now?

Usually, when I've taken time to identify what I want to do as an intention, I spend time evaluating the goal and the steps that I will take to get there. (Sound familiar to you music therapists?? It should. It is exactly the process that I use when developing client goals and objectives - I'm just the client in this scenario.) So, I find that my body hurts after a 9 hour work day. The bed is the most comfortable place for me to be - I find relief in reclining. Maybe one of the things I should change a bit is my seating arrangement in my front room. Right now, I have a stool, a hard chair, and a foldable chair to go with my loveseat. None of those seating options offer me a place to recline. I may have to purchase some new seating. I wonder if there is a place that will let me borrow a chair for a time to see if it works for me. That's one element that could lead to new opportunities or options. Other elements and options include changes in my diet and changes in my work area to further encourage me to work rather than lounge. 

Once I've identified steps to get to my particular goal, I start to chip away at them - one step at a time. I think I'll start with moving from my desk stool to the loveseat when I first get home every afternoon. I will sit with my feet up and take the laptop to the loveseat. There is no reason why I have to stay at my desk to do most of the work that I have to do - especially if my body hurts. The one modification that I may need to make is to purchase an extension cord so my battery doesn't die while I am sitting on the loveseat. I could also move the desk and the loveseat so that there is a convenient plug at both locations.

So - a new intention for my time here at home - more time out of bed and doing something for my other jobs on weeknights.

There's my desired outcome - making some work time in the evenings by staying out of bed and remaining in the front room while also engaging in my need to recline and stretch my body.

Here are some of the objectives that I have identified to get me to my desired outcome.

• Change seating options in front room
• Examine diet and see if there are patterns of exhaustion that may relate to eating
• Identify daily and weekly business goals to address - already doing that, but reclining often takes precedence over work
• Identifying other behaviors that affect this routine
• Continuing to exercise more regularly
• Continuing chiropractic care to assist with the aches

I hope to establish this new routine within the next three months. It will take some time to change the environment and get things arranged the way I want it, but I can do it. I will spend some time this next week thinking about the steps that I want to take to get to my desired outcome, and then it will start. The week after next is Spring Break, so I will not have an evening routine to establish until after March 17th. That gives me one more week of time study before a week of rearranging the environment to make it more conducive to my new goals and then starting up the new practice when I return to work.

Well, time to move from this topic into more of my cultural appropriation research and thinking. See you all tomorrow.