How My Time Management Has Changed Over The Years
I remember when all I used to do was write novels, besides of course my day job. My persona on social media platforms only represented the novels I was working on, which at that time was Silent Hill: Betrayal. It was easy to talk about time management and the only reason I wrote a series of posts on it was because everyone kept asking me "Where do you find the time?"
The series of articles I am referring to was called 'Finding the Time to Write a Novel' and was split into the following five articles:
- Introduction
- Part 1: Inspiration
- Part 2: Preparation
- Part 3: Structure
- Part 4: Accessibility
- Conclusion
The series was a huge inspiration to many at that time, especially on LinkedIn. I was so naive though. To think that one could ever manage time in a structured fashion in a way that was sustainable... it didn't last long. I have gone from writing one novel, to publisher of anthologies and a Guinness World Record, to writing for games, films and websites, to running my own company that will be developing games, films and comics.
Don't get me wrong. Those articles still hold some value to me. I have just had to rethink how to manage my time, by not actually actively managing it at all. It came to a point where I said "Websites and game writing on week nights, novels on the weekend, articles for gaming websites like GameTyrant and AIR Entertainment every morning before work..." The list went on.
It was draining to work like a robot. We were not built to work like robots. We build robots to work like robots. Or at least technology to do the automated things they are programmed for. I took the fun out of life and the quality out of family quality time. And now with my son in school, I spend time with him working through his school work with him. And to me, that is so precious.
This was one of the main reasons I decided to leave my day job, the dull 8 hour workday that actually pays the bills, to run my company and do one of the things I love the most (writing) on a daily basis. My family is my main priority in life, which means the one thing that meant so little to me (my day job), which I lost a care for many moons ago, had to go.
Time Management has become less Chronos and more Kairos. Let me explain: Chronos is the literal measurement of time. Five hours. Tuesday. On 19 March 2020. Kairos is the measurement of moments. That day when you took your kids to the park and they came home blissfully happy. That first moment when your book was published and you were on top of the moon. Some moments are just more valuable than others. And the measurement of those moments is Kairos.
And that is what Time Management has become for me: the measurement of moments. Making special memories every day, and changing peoples lives with my writing and the projects I work on. I seldom just join a team and perform the tasks allotted to me. In one team, I went from writer, to web administrator and then developing alphabetic fonts for the three languages in the game world. And that was voluntary, because I loved it.
So what am I trying to say? To each and everyone, Time Management is different and depends on your circumstances and what your chief focus is. I do have a to-do list every day where I prioritise tasks. I know how important many of them are and by when it is reasonable to deliver them. But, no longer do I say "At 9pm when kids are asleep and wife is watching Netflix, I will work on that project for 2 hours." Now I spend quality time with my kids, and when they sleep I spend time with my wife. We have an open heart to heart and expand our relationship. And if I can't get to it, tomorrow when she is busy with her work and the kids are at school, I will have over enough time to work on those projects.
Maybe as I grow older I am appreciating the finer things in life, the things that truly make me happy. I've learnt that relaxing my hold on productivity and strict discipline has actually helped me get more done, some how. It has become more fun, and I actually can't wait to get to my writing tasks, because I am not placing rules on when they should get done.
So I thought I'd share this with you... because I have some time on my hands.
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Kind regards
Shaun M Jooste
Joint-Owner: AIR Entertainment (https://airentertainment.biz)
Director: Celenic Earth Publications (https://celenicearthpublications.wordpress.com)
Author, Screenwriter, Gamewriter, Journalist (https://celenicearth.wordpress.com)
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Thanks for this post @shadowolfdg. Great article!
Excellent article @shadowolfdg. You made me think about quality time that should be spent more with kids and wife. That is the most important thing, more important than any job. Thank you for reminding me about that.
I've NEVER been any good at time management... or maybe I was... when I was running my companies, I would have a schedule similar to the one you described above... and it sucked. Don't get me wrong... I LOVED working on every business I've ever been involved in, but being forced to do something at a specific time took the fun out of it.
So now... while I still have my "TODO lists", I prioritise tasks by what is "fun" rather than what is urgent... Some items have been on my TODO for 4+ years now. They obviously weren't that urgent, because they've never received any attention and the world is still spinning :P
Having said that, my way of doing things is (probably) a recipe for disaster... so I'll go check out your links, and maybe I can find some inspiration to become more structured in my time management... or maybe I won't... only time will tell :P
Thank you for sharing this @shadowwolfdg. There is quite a lot of things that you said that is inspiring.
You have discovered a few secrets of life, thanks for sharing!
PS: I write a love and marriage blog. Blessings!
I have more trouble managing my time as I get older. Not that I am less capable, but the number of demands change as time passes and there are more things that require immediate attention, throwing plans askew. All that leads to stress, and when I sit to write, focusing is impossible when befuddled by a cloud of competing demands.
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