Hey guys, Nate here. I'm proud to announce that I'm now the Program Director of Scrawny To Brawny. From now on all of my blogs and articles will be posted on the brand-new Scrawny To Brawny Blog. So if you enjoyed what you read here, please go check it out. (It's awesome, if I say so myself.) I'm keeping the NGE website alive for resource reasons, but will no longer be actively updating it. The best way to get in touch with me is through leaving a comment on the Scrawny To Brawny blog or by posting on the S2B Facebook page. See you guys over at the new blog!
Actually, You Should Sweat the Small Stuff
Getting All the Things That Drive You Crazy Done First
Nate's on a plane back from the photo shoot for his upcoming book, and he asked me to talk about things that I know.
I work two jobs: I work as a freelance web designer and software programmer in the evenings and on weekends, and to make sure I'm making ends meet, I keep a second full-time job, which I don't hate, but I don't particularly enjoy, either.
As you can imagine, the hours have a tendency to run long, and I find weeks slipping away without so much as a single memory outside of work, the gym, and my apartment. And when I had a live-in girlfriend, my time was even more thinly spread, which left me going to sleep every night an hour or two later than I'd wanted to and waking up feeling like I'd spent my whole REM cycle in a dead sprint.
Something had to change, but I didn't really know how to fix it. I thought my options were to quit the freelance work, which I really enjoy and which pays well (when I have a contract), or to quit the day job, which I don't really want, but which would mean I might not be able to make rent and still afford other things I need, such as, you know . . . food.
I felt stuck.
But then I found the secret, and started taking my time back. You know what I did to save my sanity? I started doing the dishes.
Sounds crazy, right?
My epiphany was this: I'm not really that short on time. Rather, I'm prone to let a couple dozen three-minute projects ball up into that boulder that chases Indiana Jones. I'll come home from my day job and think about how I need to clean my apartment, do the dishes, write an email, do laundry, check the mail, and any number of other menial tasks that I need to accomplish.
Then, instead of ignoring them and working, I just sit down and spiral out of control on YouTube until it's time to go to bed, and by then I've not only stressed myself out because I didn't get any freelance work done, but also because I didn't get any of those menial tasks that were originally stressing me out done, either.
The worst part about it is that I timed myself cleaning my apartment, checking the mail, cooking dinner, and doing my dishes. It took me an hour. Total. As in, to do all of it.
Things that take longer, things like grocery shopping, preparing meals for the week, or doing laundry, I found, can be grouped into one four-hour block on a Sunday.
Once I realized that, I had a good, hard look in the mirror and said to myself, "Where the fuck does all my time go?!"
And then I made the decision to fix it. So now, I come home from my day job or the gym, put on some music, and then I do the dishes, straighten my apartment, and take care of any bills, mail, email, or other obligations that could otherwise stress me out if not dealt with. This process, when done regularly, will only consume about twenty minutes immediately after I get home, allowing me to then concentrate on things that are really important, even if all that means is being able to really, truly relax for once.
I had this epiphany about a month or two ago, and since then I've actually found the time to be bored. I've slept in, I've spent time doing nothing with friends - I even found the time to watch the entire first season of Heroes.
I've also successfully doubled my freelance income, and I'm receiving leads on new clients at nearly three times the rate I was six months ago. Most of that comes from my increased productivity, now that I can sit down and work instead of just clicking around my computer and wishing my projects would somehow code themselves.
So, yeah; sweat the small stuff. Get it the hell out of your way so you can do the shit that's really important, like beating up on children.
How do you keep your free time free?
Let us know in the comments!
Comments for This Entry
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Great find on the "holler til you pass out" video! I laughed until I peed a little.
I don't really have a problem with free time though, I have more of a problem with finding things to do. I'm bored a lot. -
You're exactly right, and I don't think it's something that many people take the time to consider.
In the military, life is at times extremely regimented and the work all-consuming. Things like eating and sleeping are accomplished in spare moments between all the other stuff to which you're obligated. You realize that when you allow little things to take up huge amounts of time and focus it's often only because you can. Recall Parkinson's Law.
I have a personal rule of three minutes. I know with certainty that I can change from soaking wet clothes to a dry set, eat a meal, run at least half a mile or any number of other things in under three minutes if I am truly motivated to do so.
Sit in a chair sometime and watch the clock tick off three minutes. Then consider what you could have accomplished in that amount of time if you had really wanted to.
If one were to value every minute of life in the same way that most people value dollar bills, he or she would realize that most of the daily things that clutter our lives can be done away with for an exceptionally low price. -
@ Craig
Awesome comment!
@ Jason
I do a lot of work on the computer, and I've found that my way to get things done is to change venues before working. When I'm home, I do leisure and housekeeping stuff, like cooking or browsing the sites I follow (like this one!). So when I need to get things done work-wise, I go to my favorite coffee shop and put on headphones. The change of scenery helps me to leave little things like a bill that needs to be paid or whatever back at home, and I can get things done more effectively.
Jeff
COMMENT RULES: Critical posts are fine, but if you're rude I'll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your personal name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. But most of all, have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Tim Ferriss for the inspiration.)
Shane 8:33pm Mar 21, 2008