Not New, Just Different & I Can Do It

Having a baby makes your life busy. It's not the busy it used to be where you're juggling work, school, your personal interests, church, and (my favorite) time with your wonderful husband. Along with all that there's always the regular stuff that you have to do every day: getting ready for the day, travel time, making food and eating it. Even if you're heating up a frozen burrito that's still a minute and a half to cook. And if you're like me you turn on the TV during the time you spend cooking and eating. Maybe those ten or fifteen minutes don't seem like a long time, but every minute counts when you have lots to do.

Think about it. How many minutes do you waste when you could quickly be tidying up a room? reading a few pages from a magazine or book? sorting your discarded laundry? washing the dish you just used? If you take those few minutes when you have them, you never have that full sink of dishes you never want to start, the huge pile of laundry to sort, or the whole house to clean. And on top of all that you've actually finished that book you've been meaning to start and you're halfway through another.

I've realized and continue to need to remind myself of how much time I throw away. My two biggest time wasters are the TV and the computer. Far too often when I turn on the TV I spend twice as long as I meant to spend watching, if not more. I'll want to watch a particular show, but it won't be starting for ten minutes. However, instead of reading a book or putting a few things away, I turn on the TV and watch something I don't care about. Then after my show ends, I start flipping channels when I should just turn the thing off. Before I've even thought about it, I've gotten sucked into a show I find somewhat amusing or one don't even like for another thirty or sixty minutes. It's disgusting how much time the TV can swiftly suck away.

The computer is not much better. I love my computer and the convenience it brings. It's so easy to quickly contact someone, find a fun craft idea, or see fun pictures your friends have been taking. Well, I know I spend to much time on my reader. I am always finding a fun new blog. I finally had to stop finding new blogs. There are just too many blogs in the world. (I know I'm one of many.) I also get sucked into looking at the random "recommended items" google reader gives. Too much stuff! I tell Tyler I'm just going to check my email, but it's never just my email. Even when I mean for it to be just my email I end up opening my reader, my second email, my facebook, my blogger dashboard... and then 30+ minutes later he's asking me if I'm coming to bed or if he should just go to sleep without me.

Now that I've got a baby, my time feels more stretched. I don't have work or school anymore, but I barely manage to eat at normal times or get much done. Owen takes up more time than I'd expect, especially because he doesn't nap except for ten or twenty minutes most days. He definitely deserves my time, no question there, but realizing this I must strictly discipline myself and use my time in exactly the way I want. The fifteen minutes I get to make my food and eat it might be my only free time while he naps. I need to hide the remote so I don't throw away that time watching some dumb show and instead read while I eat! My life may be busy but I can and I will find the time for myself! This is my goal: I will not throw away my time. How? Now that is the important question. No goal will work if it's that vague, so I will post some concrete goals.

1. I will check my google reader only once a day. (This is going to be tough. I keep thinking "Maybe I should change that to twice...or just erase it. No one would know.")

2. I will only turn on the TV while I'm doing the dishes (that's my favorite time to watch) or when I have a specific show to watch.

3. I will read rather than watch TV while I feed my baby.

I think we'll start with those and work from there. And Tyler--I know you're reading this--I'll need you to keep me to this!