Comments on: 168 Hours Time Tracking Challenge Day 2

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 19 Sep 2017 21:51:11 +0000

In reply to lauravanderkam. During nap hours, does G do laundry or prep meals or clean the house (although I know you've mentioned having a cleaning service)? Or is that complete downtime for her? I don't see laundry and those other types of household tasks in your time tracking. I'm very interested in what can be outsourced and where services could be combined to one person vs contracting out to different people for all different needs.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 20:29:39 +0000

In reply to Cindy Olsavsky. @Cindy- thanks for joining! Yes, this week is featuring a lot of BTN running. But at least, because of the streak, I'm endeavoring to do it. I probably would have just not done it without the streak, and I do think that running 10-15 minutes is better than not running at all.

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 20:28:43 +0000

In reply to Phil. @Phil- ha, yes, I know people's productivity was probably not helped by luring them onto FB today! Oh well, hopefully it was for a good cause...

By: lauravanderkam

lauravanderkam — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 20:28:02 +0000

In reply to omdg. @omdg - very smart. I think anyone who needs over 50 hours of care should strongly consider hiring multiple caregivers. Or, yes, doing daycare plus a caregiver. That way you have a back-up and you're not burning any one person out.

By: omdg

omdg — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 19:38:02 +0000

In reply to lauravanderkam. Yeah that makes sense. We once calculated that if we hired a nanny, we'd need about 13-14h of care per day because of our very early mornings. That's a lot! It's also how we ended up with au pair plus daycare. That decision probably saved us 30K per year.

By: Phil

Phil — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 17:55:14 +0000

Thanks for doing the FB livecast today…it sucked me into Facebook when I was trying to stay away, but the info was worth it…especially the idea of making a # when you find yourself off task 🙂 This whole thing is more fun than I thought it might be. I am assessing as i go and see with a few tweaks, I will be more pleased with my results. One thing that has thrown me off is the bad weather so far this week. I usually run early, but Irma has nixed that and I don’t have a good plan B. I have gotten runs in, but it has thrown my schedule off…but I am more resilient than I thought. Looking forward to see my sheet in a week!

By: Cindy Olsavsky

Cindy Olsavsky — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 17:13:49 +0000

Thanks for the facebook live chat! I loved your question “is something bothering you” about tracking your time. I am actually feeling kind of anxious when I write things down in my tracker. I’m totally tearing it apart 1/2 hour by 1/2 hour as opposed to waiting until I see the bigger picture at the end of the day / week / month. I really like the suggestion of considering the thing that you want to make sure happens. Also love “BTN” Better Than Nothing – let’s celebrate the things we are getting into our schedules 🙂

By: Lisa

Lisa — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:54:45 +0000

In reply to Gary. Can you leave home or work a little early and stop somewhere for a while to work? When I was working on a big project, I was sometimes able to leave extra-early for work and stop at a coffee shop to get some writing done. I have 45-50 minute commute, so I'd drive most of the way and then do it. It felt like extra time because if I'd been at home I wouldn't have been able to focus, and if I'd been at work I would have been interrupted. Other days, I'd leave work a little early and stop somewhere to work with a cup of coffee for 30-45 minutes before kid pick-ups needed to start. Combined, these extra writing hours only occurred 4-6 times/month, but made a huge difference over the course of several months.

By: Gary

Gary — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:34:16 +0000

In reply to lauravanderkam. Yes I think that has to be the option. I can get away with starting at 10AM so should be able to make time for a morning routine and some hours on my business. Just need to stick to it!

By: Meghan

Meghan — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 13:51:06 +0000

Nothing like starting the day with a little adrenaline (realizing your kid isn’t ready for school and it’s time to go NOW) 🙂 Sounds like you had a super-productive day, though!
I had kids home again — on Sunday they made the call to cancel school Mon/Tues because of the storm, but we did not get much. I did let them watch a movie while I tried to work, but day 2 just wasn’t great. I got the bare minimum done on my work project, but wasn’t very focused! I did throw the boys outside to play with friends in the afternoon when the sun came out and ran 3.1 miles around (and around) the block (our street is horseshoe-shaped, with a big common area in the middle of the horseshoe, so they can play there and I — and all my neighbors — can keep an eye on them). It’s the first time I’ve done that, but it definitely is a keeper plan!