It's "F you" Friday

I start off every week in a chipper and optimistic mood.  I arrive at 9 o'clock (sometimes earlier) to my laboratory and I'm refreshed.  I sort of flitter about the lab or office and pick up tasks where they were left off on Friday afternoon and I go about my business. 

Inevitably over the past several weeks, I'm blindsided or smacked in the face by something or someone that foils my good mood and momentum.  Sometimes it's a computer program that faults or gives an error.  Other days it's an unfinished report that gets pushed back onto my desk for one reason or another.  A lot of unexpected meetings have been popping up lately and throwing a monkey wrench in my plans.  Most of the time, it's when I find a problem with one of our reports. 

Usually, the problem is a minor one.  However, because people are either (a) too lazy or (b) not properly trained, this problem has trickled down the chain until it lands in the laps of myself and my amazing coworker.  I have to say this right now to let you know that I do appreciate the 2 men that I work with: my coworker and fellow analyst as well as my supervisor and part time therapist.  Both of these guys are stand up fellows, and I'd be happy to work alongside them for many years to come. 

But this has really pushed my buttons and started forcing me to think about my life and how I prioritize it.  Forgive me but I'm a very analytical person and I need numbers to begin to quantify things.  A few days ago, in a rant to one of my dear friends, Rose, I wrote this.  It's sort of a running diatribe written about my own life and my own problem with time management. 

I've since improved it.  I've created a pie chart.  I've thought about it.  I've started examining ways to ease my tension.  In my experience, everything is like a machine.  When a machine is running badly, the first step is to step back and assess the machine as a whole.  Then you can begin to alter pieces of the machine or complete any necessary repairs to the machine. 

Here is my machine:

Assuming that I am requiring no energy when I am sleeping, and my washing and primping energy is very small (I'm fairly low maintenance on work days), that leaves me 14 hours per day to use 100% of my energy.  If I'm using that energy at a moderately steady rate, that translates to roughly 7% of my total energy per hour. 

Yah, I know, I'm a nerd.  But hear me out. 

Look at your breakdown.  Where do you spend your energy?  Do you have a short commute?  A long commute?  Are you a muscle head that spends their free time at the gym?  Are you a couch potato that can constantly be found with a DVR and a magazine? 

So now that I know where my time goes every day, my challenge for the next week is to do more things in the same amount of time.  I'm going to maximize my time for at least one week and see how it goes. 

Do I sound crazy?  I'll show you. 

Have a great day! 

Kipp