Tracy Gardner / Jess Sinclair
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I Want To Be Like Hugh

12/18/2013

7 Comments

 
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          Sometimes I feel like Hugh Grant.  Well, not actually Hugh Grant.  Lately I’ve been feeling a little like Hugh Grant’s character Will in About a Boy.  Not in the lazing about, filling my life with meaningless tidbits of self-serving activities way.  But the man had a good point.  In About a Boy, Hugh Grant’s character has found that the best way to organize his decadent daily activities is in units of time.

            My daily activities are anything but decadent, unfortunately.  And I do tend to handle this business of being an adult pretty well most of the time.  But this time of year definitely presents some challenges as far as time management.  Somehow, we are all supposed to continue on with our regular work schedules, parenting and household responsibilities, friend and family commitments, and—I know I’m not alone here—after-school chauffeuring of children to guitar lessons, dance lessons, gymnastics, hair-cuts, and so on and so forth.  If we’re being honest, let’s also add a modicum of time for our own individual sanity-maintaining activities:  writing is mine.  Now add to that the entire idea of the holiday season.  Whether you celebrate Christmas, Hanukah, Kwanzaa, or another holiday I neglect to list, I believe most of us feel a bit of a crunch this time of year.

            What I’ve been trying to figure out is how to juggle.  I think we all strive for that sweet spot where all the balls are in the air, even if only for a moment.  What I realize today, as I sit working on revisions for The Secret Remains amid my cluttered house, my gaze avoiding the dishes in the sink and the wrinkled mass of clean laundry waiting patiently for me, is that Will in About a Boy had a good system.  It is the stuff his units of time are made of that is grossly flawed, at least until Marcus stumbles into his life and overhauls it for the better.  But the units of time concept is a pretty genius one.

            I learned today that I am much more productive when I take a stab at breaking my day into units of time.  Now, I can’t say it works without a hitch.  It takes me a while to settle into the units I’ve allotted for writing.  There are several trips back and forth to the kitchen for coffee.  Chocolate.  Then minty gum.  Then an adjustment in my current playlist.  Maybe the dogs need to go out.  But once I’ve rejoined my characters and fallen back into their lives, several units of time flit right by without me even noticing.  Which is all the more reason I really need those extra couple units of time later on for the real life essentials. 

            After all of that, and my great realization today of how much I’ve learned from Will in About a Boy, I’ll readily admit that I’m not an incredibly organized person.  I can’t swear that from here on in my life will be evenly divided into neat units of productive time.  But right now, for the holiday season and all of the fun craziness that I wouldn’t trade for the world, I think I will be like Hugh Grant.  Just a little. 

          So here is my question.  What tricks have you learned to use this time of year, to squeeze every bit of time out of these even busier days and nights?


7 Comments
Ann
12/18/2013 11:50:30 am

The only trick I have learned is to write everything down that I need to do and check them off the list when I'm done. Of course sleep is the one unit of time that gets cut short during the holidays.

Reply
Joni Gardner
1/4/2014 05:20:09 am

Ann, I hope you take care of my 1st born this winter. I think she languishes when you return to CA. Be safe and healthy in 2014, but more importantly, be fun. Lovely

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Tracy Gardner Beno
1/4/2014 09:13:17 am

I'll make sure Ann sees that! But don't worry, Lovely, I never lanquish; you instilled us with far too much energy for that kind of nonsense!

Beth
12/18/2013 12:06:02 pm

I wake up a couple hours before the kids do. Even if that only means I get a shower and an uninterrupted cup of coffee, it sets me up to be more productive throughout the day. Also, unplugging is very beneficial for getting stuff done. Social media and surfing the web are such black holes for time.

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Tracy Gardner Beno
12/18/2013 12:27:50 pm

You are both so right. I am definitely sleep deprived this time of year! Check lists are a great tool, and so is getting up before the kids...mine are older now but I do remember those days when I totally missed my chance at a shower once the little ones were up! Good tips, thanks for the comments.

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Sandy Simonson
12/20/2013 12:27:04 am

My daughter saved me a lot of time this year. I had her go into the computer and pull up tabs to all the stores she loves and make wish lists of what she wants. She was taken to dance class and I looked at what she had picked out.

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Tracy Gardner Beno
12/20/2013 02:32:42 pm

Fantastic idea! Our daughters think alike, they leave nothing to chance. Mine texted me photos and links to several items she is hoping for. The days of the hand written Christmas list posted on our refrigerator are about over, I think.
Thank you for adding your thoughts to my blog!

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