Where does the time go? Not to all the things that we’d like, that’s for sure. Personally, we’ve been meaning to get back into the habit of writing these blog posts on a regular basis. Unfortunately (or fortunately I suppose) we’re so busy elsewhere, we just haven’t found the time to do it. It’s crackers to think that you can manage to get some work done for a client’s enterprise but not for your own. Well that’s going to change, as we’re treating ourselves like a (mini) client from here on in! That’s why I’m sat scripting this at 10:27 on Saturday night :o(
In Payment for Your Time
It struck me that time is most probably the most important commodity we have; we’re allotted a lifetime’s worth, and if you need more, well, tough! We work within it and get paid by it. Some of us might even be given a reminder that we don’t have much of it left when we retire in the shape of a clock!
If this were an actual client blog that I was working on right now (or rather during working hours), it would be taking place in a pre-scheduled, dedicated time slot on a pre-designated day. It’s logical, it’s fair to all involved and it works. OK, sometimes a little bit of inspiration pops up during another client’s allotted time slot, but that happens regularly enough to even out across the board. The idea’s scribbled down on the jotter and it’s back to the main event.
Ironically, the inspiration for this article came not from a desperate need to get back to populating this blog, but from a colleague, who last Thursday evening looked at me in a daze and asked “What happened to today?” He was concerned that he might have forgotten to do some work for someone, but then realised that he’d been so busy doing what he’d been scheduled to do, his day had shot past without him noticing. He had actually done everything he’d planned if you were worried! The only thing that he hadn’t managed to do was to sit down for a few minutes and think up some new ideas for future projects. Never mind, he’s got a 90 minute drive tacked on to each end of his day, so the inspiration has plenty of time sink in. Sounds cruel, I know, but I’m in the same boat, if not the same car!
I’m struggling to find a focus for this article if I’m honest, and I suppose that’s perhaps the crux of it. We’re always so busy finding some sort of point, or call to action, or some other high profile end game, that we might be guilty of missing the real point; that there doesn’t always need to be one. Does there?
Chris Gray