Ever-Elusive Efficient Time Management

Joy here...I've long grappled with feeling like there simply aren't enough hours in the day to get the things done that I need doing.  I have found myself not being able to schedule my workouts in around work, socializing, life, house-work etc., but I've equally found myself unable to fit in errands to get my garden ready in the spring, or find the time to search out, call, meet with, and organize masonry work that needs to be done on our house, or regular maintenance things like that that happen to pop up.

So this week, I turned to a friend in the car, "This inability of mine to fit everything in seems to be a constant problem," I said. "So I know that the problem is mine."  I was being deep and self-reflective, not blaming the world for not being organized according to my timetable, but recognizing I am complicit in how my life unfolds. "I just need," I said, "to figure out how to schedule myself better."  I was feeling already better at discovering that this problem is one of my own making, and the solution merely better time management.

With better time management, I figured, I'd be able to fit in all the obligations that currently seem to overwhelm me.  I'd be able to build a business, lead a team, organize my house, be in shape, socialize with my friends, maintain relationships with my family, balance our overseas obligations, set up healthy meal plans and grocery lists, and continue to write and manage my other "for fun" projects.

Clearly, it was just about being more organized.

As a Type A personality, I can do organized.  Heck, I'm pretty organized as it is, and I can certainly get better.

"Or," this friend said to me, "maybe you could just do less."

My brain officially exploded.

So while I contemplate that option, I hit at least 3 of my planned workouts this week, and I still pretty much think organization might be the key, but Ima gonna think hard on this whole "do less" idea.

Over and out,
Joy

Run Stats:
workout #1: Ran for 27:53 for a distance of 5km and a pace of 5:35min/km.
workout #2: Ran for 45:00 for a distance of 8.11km and a pace of 5:33min/km.
workout #3: Did 4 X 1km repeats at 4:45min/km

Have fun, Dammit!

Joy here...Okay, so I barely went cross-country skiing this winter; I've not hit all my run workouts in weeks; I've fallen off the strength training wagon; I barely ride my bike, and I think I've gained weight over the course of this never-ending winter.

But nobody likes a whinger.

whinge

(h)winj/

BRITISHinformal

verb

1. 1.

   complain persistently and in a peevish or irritating way.

   "stop whingeing and get on with it!"

noun

1. 1.

   an act of complaining.

Me last month with the snow bike!

And the truth of the matter is that when I put on that cycling helmet, hop up on a bike, and feel the wind on my face as I pedal my little heart out, I forget everything; every worry, every whinge, and every excuse is whisked away.

That, I think, is why all little children learn to love bike riding.
I was never a bike rider as a kid...so I get to fall in love with it now as an adult, enjoying every moment of it in the fullness of my present self.  I don't take it for granted, and I'm always surprised by just how much I love riding my bike.

We bought a "snow bike" this winter...a big, fat bike with tires that would put a monster truck to shame, and then yesterday the weather was actually nice enough for me to dust off my awesome road bike and head for a ride around the canal for the first time in 8 months!!!

Me after my successful first 1.5 hr bike ride this spring!

So a friend of mine and I got ourselves all set, and headed out onto one of Ottawa's many bike paths.  Neither she nor I feel particularly fit after a long winter with too much booze and not enough sport, but that's not the point.

The point is getting out there under a blue sky in the blustering wind chatting with a friend and moving your body.  You don't have to look at your computer and calculate speed or wattage, you just have to just enjoy yourself.  That's not such a tall order, is it?

And that's exactly what we did.  And in my humble opinion (or IMHO in text-speak), enjoyment on a sunny spring day is as good a start as any I can imagine as I count down to my next race in just under 5 weeks from now.

I may not be fast by then.  I may not be fit by then.  But I will go and I will run, and I will have fun.

Dammit.

Because afterall that is what this is all about!

Over and out,
Joy

Ride Stats:  Went for a 35km bike path ride; it took around 90mins.