Time Budgeting

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deathmetal

Lifer
Jul 21, 2015
7,714
32
When I first realized I had to get effective in life, some years ago, I began learning time budgeting. This is where you look at what you have to do in a day, figure out how long it will take, and divide up your day so that you can do each task, and all of them in the right order.
One thing I like about pipe smoking is that it makes it easier to budget time. "I'll do (this thing) for the next hour and a half while I smoke this bowl of Royal Yacht" is a fairly typical thing to mutter around here. I have one giant billiard for sticky tasks, and a couple of smaller pipes for short bursts of activity.
If I need to do something really burly (but not necessarily Burley, although usually) I'll set out a few loaded pipes in a row, like a rifleman on the walls of Alamo with his long guns, so I can fire 'em off in a chain and get the job done.

 

seacaptain

Lifer
Apr 24, 2015
1,829
7
Reminds me of a story.
Around 120 years ago, a young man went to the office of Andrew Carnegie and told his secretary if he could book a meeting, he had an idea that would change Mr. Carnegie's life. Of course he was rebuffed. He came back the next day and said "just give me 2 minutes, I have an idea that will change Mr. Carnegie's life". Rebuffed again. He came back the next day, "Just give me 1 minute". Rebuffed. The next day "just give me 30 seconds". Intrigued, Andrew Carnegie agreed to see him and said "OK, you have 30 seconds".
The young man told him first thing when he came to the office to to write down everything he wanted to accomplish that day and check them off. Do that for 30 days and then send me a check for what you think it's worth.
It was a revolutionary idea. Mr. Carnegie soon found that his entire days work was done by lunch time. A month later he sent the young man a check for $25,000, which was about 50 years average annual wages for the time.

 
I need to do this again. When I do trade work with other stores, I get a stack of envelopes with a piece of jewelry in each, and I just pull the envelope out, read my instructions and do it. So, it's sort of like a list, but I have so much other stuff I want to get done. And, I always overestimate time. Something that in my mind will take an hour, may only take ten minutes. But then, I get that one job that I think is going to be easy, and it all falls to crap, stone breaks, prong breaks, or I have to spend thirty minutes on my knees looking for a stone that jumped off the bench (jeweler's prayer position).
Most of the time I will just have a pipe going in my clench while I work, but lately I have been just grabbing my pipe when I have to reflect or think through something, or just decompress from some microscopic nerve wrecking detail work. But, everytime I take off my headgear and start smoking, my wife pokes her head in and scolds me for goofing. Never fails.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
Uh-oh, the Alamo didn't turn out too well for the defenders, however, the principle of being your own time manager is a good one. Okay, gotta work.

 

derekflint

Part of the Furniture Now
Nov 23, 2017
754
2
I figure out how much pipe smoking I want to get done in the day...then fit everything else in. :puffpipe:

 

prndl

Lifer
Apr 30, 2014
1,571
2,901
I take the typical retired person's approach. Never do today what you can put off til tomorrow.
That way, if anyone calls and wants me to do something, I can always say, "Well, I've got a full plate today and looks like I'm gonna be pretty tied up tomorrow!"

 

ssjones

Moderator
Staff member
May 11, 2011
18,317
11,068
Maryland
postimg.cc
Great point, in today's hectic, multi-tasking pace, setting aside an hour to enjoy a pipe does take some effort. As a multi-unit restaurant manager for almost 40 years now, I quickly learned that effective time management was crucial for not only success, but sanity. With the advent of the smart phone and tablets, and the general requirement of better productivity, there is still plenty to learn. Sometimes i have to make a decision, run on the treadmill/hit the gym or smoke my pipe. I strive for balance, so sometimes the pipe takes a back seat. While it all seems too much on occasion, I'm not certain how I would survive in retirement. I hope to get a crack at that someday!
@Seacaptain - I loved the Carnegie story! Despite working with a laptop, smartphone and notepad, I still use a daytimer style binder with my own custom pages. In the 1970's, Mr. Marriott made sure every knew manager had a Daytimer binder and refills, which were pricey even then. A daily/weekly "to do list" is critical to me and it can't be replicated on a digital format.....I tried.

 
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