Time management
One site I bounce through from time to time, especially after hearing the leader give good workshop at South By, is A List Apart. The recent article, rather thoughtful, about time management, caused me to think and examine my time management.
My day, when I’m in town and not working at an event, breaks down pretty easy. Roll out of bed and feed the cat, fix some coffee, swallow a handful of vitamins, and turn the computer on, have it gather up the mail for the morning, the overnight grab-bag of news, delights, orders, complaints, and spam.
Mail that demands immediate attention, \\i.e.\\, has money attached to it, that stuff gets attention first. Interesting bits get looked at, if there’s a nice joke, I bounce it out to the joke list. The server’s report usually comes through in the morning, and I check it to make sure that nothing is broken on the sites I tend to. I did notice that some folks have a hard time reading instructions, as the top of the archive page suggests that scopes don’t appear before the publication date.
Although it was a dreadfully cold winter, I did manage to get in a few high mileage days in January. But after looking at the mail, the next thing I do, according to the planets, is write some scopes. I tend to work on an advanced publication schedule, and that requires a lot of effort and planning. My first priority, lately, as is has been for some years now, is to write first. Sometimes I avoid the phone, sometimes I don’t. Depends on my mood. Or maybe it depends on the relative position of Pluto, still in Sagittarius, the Moon, and perhaps Mercury.
I realize, especially at my station in life, maybe I have something screwed up, but for the last few years, on hot summer days, the appeal of a short hike in the blazing sun, a quick dip in the cold waters of Barton Creek, and the return trip, these are important elements to a successful afternoon. Clears my brain. Washes the crap out of my emotional system. Gives me a chance to reflect and think about whatever pressing problem seems to be paramount at the time.
It makes for a good existence. Too bad the writing part, no matter how clever I’m assured the content is, too bad that’s not meeting the bills. So then I schedule readings and client consultations. Even then, the calendar’s been a little bare as of late, although, the continuing requests for free information still pile up.
I opted out of a number of events last night, but there was one duty I was called for that I couldn’t avoid. One of my neighbors, a Virgo girl, wanted me to drop her off downtown so she could go drinking. “Here, take my car,” she informed me, “and I’ll get the keys back later. And NO cruising for chicks in my car.” It’s an older model Benz. “It’s old, but it still looks good, can fool some people.” Yeah, just like me?
