PEAR TREE LOG

pear tree log: I started this blog to keep my younger son, Jonny, in touch with life in Lincolnshire, while he spent a year working in China. That year turned into five! Now he is home and training to become a physics teacher. This is simply a patchwork quilt of some of the things I enjoy - life in rural Lincolnshire, our animals, friends, architecture, books, the gardens, and things of passing interest.



Wednesday, 3 October 2012

Experiments with Time

Help!

I seem to keep misplacing time...
Why does it go so quickly?

Where does it go?

Has it speeded up?
Days seem to whizz by in a blur of activity and yet the list of outstanding jobs grows ever longer.
Of course we still have the same number of hours in a day, they tick by in the same way as they have always done...
Maybe I am filling my days up with too much time wasting...
A timetable is what I need.
Something simple.
Borrowed image.
For a start, the darker mornings mean that I don't wake as early as I used to do,  and as daylight fades so does my energy.

So, I must timetable the hours from 8am until 6pm, Monday to Friday, try to fit things into time slots - although, of course, life rarely works that way.

Weather plays a big part in what jobs get done outdoors.
Grandparenting commitments mean that we are as tied to fixed points in the school day as we were when our own children were young.
It is an immense pleasure, but it is also a time anchor.
Everything else must fit around those fixed time slots.

Somehow I need to snatch back an extra hour or two to fit in all the jobs.
I can't extend the hours in a day, but I can try to reduce my time-wasting activities.

Tea-breaks must be reduced both in number and in the length of time we take.
Computer 'work' must be curtailed.
Reading must be done in the bath...except that baths should become showers - saving time and water.

Help!

I thought retirement meant that life slowed down, endless days stretched ahead with time for hobbies, fun, outings, reading...

I'd love to write more, but unfortunately this time slot ended five minutes ago...


Posted by at

24 comments:

  1. Meggie3 October 2012 at 15:36

    Your time is definitely being squeezed into a tighter schedule. Hopefully you will be able to settle in to a workable day.

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:24

      Hello Meggie, I'm sure we'll get that timetable adjusted so that most things get done - either that or we'll have to speed up doing the things we do!

      Delete
  2. Little Home In The Country3 October 2012 at 16:23

    ROFLOL! My parents who are in their late 60's (and fully retired) lament OFTEN how full their days are! The hours in the day are JUST as full as when they worked... from gardening and housework to volunteering and grandchildren they are busy but also, in addition, they are travelling and entertaining more than ever. They find that time management skills are in use now as much (if not more) than when they were working!

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:25

      Hello Little Home in the Country, That is all so true! I should add that we are thoroughly enjoying it all - and having grandchildren about the place is wonderful.

      Delete
  3. Elna3 October 2012 at 16:37

    You sound like the rabbit in Alice in wonderland *smile*.

    Hugs

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:26

      Hello Elna, I feel like the rabbit in Alice in Wonderland!

      Delete
  4. Moving with Mitchell3 October 2012 at 17:35

    Oh, you're just doing too much. You should have moved to Spain in retirement. Our timetables don't include the hours before 10 a.m. That's called the middle of the night.

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:27

      Hello Mitch, With these increasingly dark mornings I am inclined to agree with you - the trouble is that my body clock also thinks I should hibernate when darkness falls - a little after 6.30pm at the moment...

      Delete
  5. Joanne Noragon3 October 2012 at 17:36

    Making an appointment to see the old folks is routine. I'll be so thankful when football/marching band season ends. I think it ends.

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    1. Jan3 October 2012 at 18:44

      How well I remember feeling like that during marching season-two kids in band meant 8 years of never having Friday nights free in the fall. We were guiltily thrilled when the football team did badly, because it meant an early end to marching season! Hang in there!

      Delete
    2. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:30

      Hello Joanne, I know that you are extremely busy with your two granddaughters and all their commitments. They keep us on our toes!


      Hello Jan, Sounds like you are speaking from the heart!

      Delete
  6. Bonnie3 October 2012 at 18:38

    So cute! When I find I have time on my hands I seem to waste it. The busier I find myself, the more I accomplish.

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:31

      Hello Bonnie, Life is hectic and fun, it's just that sometimes I would like to stand still, catch up with myself. I know what you mean about how easy it is to waste time though!

      Delete
  7. Molly3 October 2012 at 21:15

    I know exactly what you mean. My life is paved with good intentions and then the phone rings .....

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:35

      Hello Molly, Oh gosh, that sinking feeling when I know it is my aunt on the other end, once she begins she is impossible to stop. I have to pull up a chair and just go "Yes" "No" or "Oh, really?" every now and then...the trouble is she talks for hours about the same things and will not allow interruptions or diversionary tactics.

      Delete
  8. John Going Gently3 October 2012 at 23:33

    its the curse of getting "older"
    the older you get.... the quicker time flies"
    simples!
    x

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    Replies
    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 17:36

      Hello John, Thanks for that...I now feel 109.xx

      Delete
  9. Ms Sparrow4 October 2012 at 01:05

    I'm sorry to hear you're feeling stressed. Long tea breaks and leisurely walks are your right as a retiree. Do you have Daylight Saving time to adjust your biological clock?

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 20:49

      Hello Ms Sparrow, That is what I say about tea breaks, too. They are my right! I love it all really, it's just that the thing I am struggling most with is finding time to blog in the way I used to. I wish I did have a Daylight Saving adjustment and an Energy Saving Battery.

      Delete
  10. Cro Magnon4 October 2012 at 06:45

    With two big dogs in the family, I seem to have even less time than before, yet somehow I achieve more. Normally I get up before 6 am, but recently (today for example) I've been getting up after 6.30 am. I must be ageing fast.

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 20:53

      Hello Cro, During summer I have no trouble in waking early, I like to sleep with the curtains open so the change in light levels help to wake me naturally, unfortunately now that mornings are dark it keeps me sleeping for longer. I'm going to have to dig out the alarm clock! Your two dogs will definitely help to keep you fit and active.

      Delete
  11. Unknown4 October 2012 at 08:30

    it's been proven in studies that as we get older time does 'seem' to go faster... it's all about routine... if you've done stuff before it goes by quicker and when we're young we experience new things and it's the experiencing of new things that make time seem to slow down... so you need to change your routine, brush your teeth with your left hand... do a brain puzzle...walk a different way today... come and visit me and bring a cake... however, if you're simply complaining about there not being enough hours in the day to get everything in then yes, I sympathise, but there's shit all you can do about it... x

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    1. Elaine4 October 2012 at 20:59

      Hello Dom, I would have loved to pop round with a cake, unfortunately I didn't have time to make one and because I walked a different way I ended up in Ulceby Cross! I'm just wailing because I don't have enough time for blogging!

      Delete
  12. A Colorful World8 October 2012 at 18:12

    Managing time is always such a problem! Case in point...I am so behind in my blog comments because of a project that had a deadline, followed quickly by an out-of-town visit...since then I've also had a lovely lunch with my former boss who I hadn't seen in 8 years, and then managed to tear something in my knee and am now spending a lot of time with my leg elevated! Just isn't comfortable sitting at the computer much, yet, so I am still behind! :-) But, life is interesting if it isn't anything else, and we roll with the waves!

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