Why A Schedule is Important

Not unlike many people I am in search of that fabled state of balance. You know the one that I am talking about, that place where I feel fulfilled in all areas of my life. There have been moments in life in which I feel like I have had it, but they seem to be few and far between.

I have these memories of the lazy days of summer in which my responsibilities included going to the beach, chasing girls and just hanging out with the boys. I was poor, but relatively happy, most of the time. Every now and then I'd find myself wishing that I was out school and making money.

Oh, did I mention that in this fantasy it never occurred to me that I'd spend all day at the office and then come home and tear my hair out trying to figure out how to take care of household chores and errands. At least I don't really remember thinking about it, maybe I did.

What I do know is that when I entered the workforce I began to have fantasies about being independently wealthy so that I could do whatever I wanted. I craved having entire days to myself to do nothing. And that leads to my comment about why a schedule is important.

In the decades since I left school I have upon occasion found myself out of work for periods of time. Initially I was always excited to have the time to myself that I had been thinking. But I quickly learned that having nothing to do everyday was a terrible way to spend time. Boredom and I don't mix well, it is a recipe for trouble.

During my school days you could always find someone to hang out with. We weren't in class all day long and even if we were, it was easy to play hooky. Not true in the working world. You only received so much sick/vacation time so you were careful about how to use it. So in those in between jobs moments I found out that most of the time I was on my own for the day.

It is not a bad thing, but like I said it can get old relatively quickly.

More to the point I found that if I didn't adhere to some sort of schedule I didn't get much done. I couldn't stay up all night and sleep in all day. If I took too long to shower and eat breakfast I'd find that half the day had escaped.

So in the end I learned that for me a schedule is very important. If I don't block off time for specific goals I just don't get them done as quickly as I'd like.

Of course I am not as anal about it as The Shmata Queen. I don't use a planner to map out every minute of the day nor do I take copious amounts of time to develop a list of groceries. My lord, you have never someone take so much pleasure in crossing off items as they are completed.

Hee hee. Excuse me, I need to go and duck and cover before I get smacked in the head.