Time Log Discussion

     I was sick this weekend so I didn't have much time to write.  I recorded my time log over the week and spent time reflective on where the time is spent (and recovering from this cold).  That does not mean this week's article is going to be light.  I've included the my time log and KD Benji's time log for comparison.  Take a look and see how the two compare.

From "Alexa Bourne"

     Thanks to KD Benji's time log I was able to see how another writer spends their time.  She works, reads a great deal of material, takes courses at a local college and still has time for her husband (Hey Dan!), friends and family.  All of the time on her log paints a very different picture than the time logged on mine.  Take a look at her time log below:


KD Benji's Time Log

     The different colors represent various activities and the hours spent were rounded to the nearest :30 mark.  See the list below for an explanation of the color key:

* Grey - Work/Sleep
* Yellow - Reading
* Brown - Travel
* Orange - School/Housework
* Green - Writing
* Blue - TV/Movie/Social
* Red - Gym


     Her time expenditure was heavily weighted in the reading and school during the week.  That was a very different story from the details of my time log below.  It's was also fun to note that some of the reading listed in the earlier hours of the workweek are a compilation of two 15 minute break spent reading (She often posts reviews on books/movies at Kronicles of KD).  Her week was fairly regimented and ordered similar to the week previous.  The routine seems to have worked well for her; she maintains 4 blogs AND has a life!

     On to my disaster of a time log...


My Time Log

      As you can see from the diagram on the right, I spent much of my time watching television or movies.  I also spent a few hours at the gym, which should be covered at Doin' Sh*t With Pat, but I would need to spend more than Monday nights writing to make that happen.  I also spent a little extra time on house work that week since some friends were coming for a visit.  An interesting thing to note is the utter lack of reading on my time log.
     I have always spent a lot of time watching movies with my wife, Heather; it's what we do.  We bonded over our love of movies (or "films" if you want to get pretentious... Clinton - hahaha * Check out his review at Kronicles of KD), took "film" classes, watched our movie collection/library grow and never looked back.  Although we spent a bunch of time at the gym, seeing friends/family and working, I still missed some free time to write.  The hardest decision was when to break off from spending time with Heather or our friends and sequester myself in the "movie room"/office to complete the next article.

     So after further examination of the time logs, there are no simple answers.  I wrestled with the themes of experience or creation all throughout my 20's and just ended up wasting time.  I found a book, and told Katherine about it, that was an interesting read and talked about some of the same topics.  There should have been a simple balance visible in the time logs, but remembering the discipline of writing is not always an easy task.  Movies always seem to win out over the hard work of "writing for fun", but the war is never over.

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     For more info on how I'm "spending" my time, I create a viewed/reviewed page called 2012: Year In Review.  It has the movies, books and video games that I "spend" my time on.  It will be updated shortly with a BIG batch of movies that I watched shortly after Christmas (... I just can't seem to find the list right now).  Check it out and let me know if I'm spending too much time "experiencing" and not enough time "creating".


Thanks again for checking out Forcing the Issue and please take a moment to rate the blog, check out a sponsor/ad, view a friend's blog or .  If you filled out your own time log, please let me know and I will make arrangements to display/discuss it here (I'm waiting on you, CBA).  Thanks~


Next Week: Shifting focus and completing side projects...