From the archives: Making time

How do you have time to read, write, keep house, etc.?

Over the last six years, I've fielded some derivation of this question too often to count.

There exists in me a curmudgeonly inclination to lob this back into the inquirer's court: How do you not? But some readers are too sensitive for this bold an approach.

Heh, heh, heh.

Look. My writing is my work. Asking me how I find time to write is a bit like asking a barkeep how he finds time to tend bar or an information systems engineer how she makes time to develop projects. It's what I do, and in order to be paid -- well and on time -- I must get the work done.

The rest? The reading, learning, living, blogging even? Well, I sleep less to read more, and I have, quite simply, never understood the big deal about keeping an organized and comfortable home.

But if you require something more specific, consider this list of don'ts the next time you find that you haven't enough time to do it all. Something here may prove helpful.

Unless you're training for a marathon or pursuing a career as a model or professional athlete, don't spend a lot of time working out. Just do enough to maintain good health.

Don't fuss with complicated hairstyles or "busy" clothes or make-up.

Don't answer the telephone. Turn the ringer off. When/if you have time for telephone conversations, make a call. Amazing how much time this alone saves.

Don't waste time complaining about the commonplace (e.g., the way your son forgets to turn his socks right side out before dropping them in the hamper, the way your spouse this, and his or her mother that, and your mother ... and the neighbor ... and the people at the library ... blah, blah, blah). Energy- and time-sapping stuff, that.

Don't go shopping. No mall walking. No window shopping. Keep a list. Pick up the items on the list. Work the clearance racks at the end of the season, in one maybe two trips. But hit the mall or Wal*Mart or wherever for no particular reason? Perish the thought. Bookstores are, of course, an exception.

Don't read junk mail.

Or catalogues. 'think this is a trivial suggestion? Consider all the time some folks waste paging through the Christmas season's offerings. You know you don't have $75 for a letter opener from Levenger. Drop the catalogues in the can before the mail deliverer has sped from the mailbox. Clothes catalogues? Why? If you want to dream of opulence, read a Victorian novel or certain Shakespearean plays. Why waste time mulling over the Nordstrom's catalogue when the best sales are in-store at the end of the season? You get the idea. Book catalogues are, of course, the exception.

Don't join clubs.

In general, don't say, "Yes," to anyone. This is harsh, but grow adept at looking nearly every person (excluding your children, spouse and/or significant other, and boss (or editor or client)) who thinks you owe him or her a piece of your time in the eye and saying, "No, but best wishes with [insert time-sucking activity here]." Trust me, this isn't going to cause any death-bed regrets. "Oh, how I wish I had spent more time organizing that [insert time-sucking activity here]!" Yeah. No.

Unless you are particularly gifted in one or another craft such that your creations make anticipated gifts and/or money, don't scrapbook or craft.

And don't compete with neighbors in the "who can out-decorate everyone else" during Halloween and Christmas seasons. Display simple, pretty decorations. End of story.

Don't indulge in home and/or garden magazines.

Or home and/or garden shows. They only inspire time- (and money-) sapping projects that keep you from family field trips, game nights, books, and the occasional lazy morning in bed with coffee, muffins, and two papers.

Don't cook elaborate meals.

Sometimes, don't even cook. That's why god made takeout. Really. So readers, thinkers, and autodidacts don't starve.

Don't waste time on doubt. Why invite discontent by perpetually glancing at what he or she is doing?

Similarly, don't dabble in self-doubt. Much. (See this entry for more on this topic.)

And then there will be time to read. And read some more. And to write and learn. And to keep a home that makes your family happy. A home in which you will have time to live and learn and laugh too loudly.

A new slogan, then: Just don't.
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This material, culled from M-mv entry 10.21.2004, has also been posted in other forums over the last two years. When three regular readers wrote within the space of an hour to suggest that it was time for a repost, I figured something was in the air. (Added later: Several more messages and a link later, and I now understand the concern -- unwarranted, I believe, but greatly appreciated.) Thanks for your interest, folks. Here's looking at you.