For a variety of reasons, not least of which the impending birth of our first child, I’ve been looking for ways to be more productive at home, and more efficient with the time I get to accomplish things. As I looked at the way Annie and I spend our evenings, I noticed that there tends to be an hour or so when I first get home, then there’s dinner and some TV afterwards, followed by another couple of hours after Annie goes to bed. I thought I was being a genius when I decided that I would spend that time after Annie goes to be doing computer stuff. In my mind’s eye, I envisioned myself turning off the TV, strolling into my office, and spending the next two hours doing productive things like blogging and updating web sites (don’t laugh, that counts as productivity for me).
As you can imagine, when I set this plan in motion over the last two weeks, what really happened is that after Annie went to bed, I either stayed in the basement and watched a movie, or I played video games. After spending an hour or two relaxing on the couch, my motivation to get up and go do things was shockingly low.
So, I’ve turned the plan on its head. Now, when I get home from work, I immediately do a couple of chores while my energy is high, and then I come into the office and do computer-related tasks like blogging (like I’m doing right now!). Then after Annie goes to bed, if I want to spend that time watching a movie or playing video games or whatever, I don’t have to feel guilty about it.
It’s working well so far, except for one small detail: usually dinner is ready before I finish my blog post, so I’m late getting to the table. I’m hoping that over time, I’ll get a bit more efficient and that will happen less — But right now, I have to go before my dinner gets cold.
