I have a full-time job. In fact I have a VERY full-time job. I’m not complaining – 60+ hours a week is the trade off for the responsibility and autonomy which make it very enjoyable. But throw in nearly 3 hours commute per day, managing three blogs, a number of business projects, and a 17 month old son, then I don’t have lashings of free time.
One thing that constantly preys on my mind, and may prey on yours too, is how much more you’d get done on the the things you love if you didn’t have to go to work.
If I wasn’t at work during the week I could spend all those hours working on these blogs and projects and start-ups and… and… and…
But do we actually need this time? I think I am already doing the 80% of things that take the 20% of the time, which is all the time I have available. Pareto’s math tell us that in my 16 hour day I get 80% of the work done in 3 hours – the rest of the day is spent on the last 20%. THAT is what can happen when you have more time. You claw back those 13 hours and then squander them on things it is nice to do.
And I’m not talking about making more time to play with my son, or to ride you bike, or look after your cat. That is a very different decision process. I’m talking about ‘production’.
What is key is that any additional time you may find is used as productivly as you use your current time. If you release those extra 13 hours a day, then you need to fill them with 4 times the work you are managing to do in the 3 hours you currently have. Frightening isn’t it! For example, if I manage 3 blogs in 3 hours a day, then if I quit work the daily 16 hours should allow me to manage… well, 16 blogs!
I exagerate to make a point, but extra time is easily wasted, and it is vital that you know in advance how you are going to use it. If you don’t, your current activity will just expand to fill the new amount of time, meaning you have in reality gained nothing. Oops.
