Time Management. Or, Increasing Self-Awareness
I see friends take long lunches, run personal errands during work hours, drop by their houses in the middle of the afternoon, chat with colleagues, call on the phone and talk for 30 minutes with no apparent qualms.
It got me thinking: How much do white collar people really work in a day? I mean, I know they're "there" for 40 or so hours every week, but how much of that time is actually spent working?
This 2007 article from the New York Times says the estimates vary widely, but, to me, the one that rang most true is the estimate that people work about 60% of the time. So in a 40-hour week, they're actually working 24 hours.
I tested the theory on myself yesterday. I don't go home for lunch, chat on the phone much, or run personal errands during the day, so I figured my percentage would be a lot higher. Then again, I do quite a bit of Internet surfing and investment watching, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I went to an online stop watch (after reviewing a couple, I settled on this one). I timed myself from 8:00-5:00, stopping the clock every time I relieved myself, grabbed food from the back, chatted with a co-worker, talked with my wife, texted a friend, or surfed. The result: Out of nine hours, I worked a little less than six. Right around 63%. I was disgusted with myself, but at least I now have a feel for how much time I'm losing in a day.
My goal: Get my productivity percentage up to 75%. If I can, I'll capture an extra hour a day, which will decrease greatly my need to work after-hours or on the weekends. It'll also leave more time for reading, writing, my family, and other things that are more important than working at the office.
Quite frankly, I hate the whole "time management" tone of this post, but the stop watch drill was a real eye-opener for me. You might want to try it.
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The graduation and spring sports season (combined with my 63% efficiency rate) have me way behind. Light blogging today. CALW will hopefully return next Tuesday.
