Jon-A-Fest Day 3: Report

"Lost time is never found again." -Benjamin Franklin
"You may delay, but time will not."  -Benjamin Franklin
"We say we waste time, but that is impossible. We waste ourselves." -Alice Bloch (who???)
And my favorite...."time is what we want most, but...what we use worst." -William Penn

Word of the Day: Report. To take down in writing; to relate, as what has been learned by observation; to give or render a formal account of.

I'm a little late with this post, which is somewhat ironic given the purpose of Day 3--to report on how I use my time. For me, report follows nicely the themes of the previous two days--reflect and release--for reporting gives me a chance to investigate how I use natures most precious resource--time--to pursue the things that upon reflection I would like to improve on.

Like all 3 of you who read this, and no, this doesn't include my wife and 2 kids (who don't read this at all..on the positive side it gives me a chance to talk about them!), my life is full of obligations that seemingly take up all my time. Shall we list them: Husband, father, lecturer, coach, dissertation, dedicated watcher of television, and facebook. While I am fully aware of the concept (key word!) of time management, well...lets just say application has always been an issue. Now as I approach an unmentionable age, I found myself on Day 1 reflecting more on what I have not  done that the things (some of them good, methinks) that I have. This realization that I spend more time bemoaning wasted moments that enjoying the precious ones motivated todays task: to report.

Practical Application: Observe and Report was a silly movie, as most Seth Rogen films tend to be. (Side note: he is better as part of an ensemble cast, he cannot carry a movie by himself. Also, the Green Hornet was absurdly bad but I know that before I bought the ticket. Big dummy).  Starting today (Day 3) and continuing through Day 7 I will observe and report on how I spend my time. So I have grabbed a journal and a pen and put plan to action.

You cannot maximize time until you first now how you misuse it. Here's how my day went today:

6:52--Woke up, changed a diaper (not mine). Gave Jamison a bottle and watched the Wiggles and Handy Manny until 8:30.    Assessment: time well spent, I learned a new song and how to fix a freezer.
8:30-8:52--brushed tooth and showered. Assessment: potential waste of time--if the French don't bathe but once a month, maybe they are onto something
9:21-10:15--commute to work interrupted by free breakfast at Chic-Fil-A.  Assessment: As many of you in the DC area know, commuting takes up a lot of time and increases the level of "wasted" hours. But hey, I got free Chic-Fil-A. Assessment: Time well spent!

11:00-4:20--Three classes and a trip across campus to the student union. I did spend 7 minutes staring at what appeared to be a bi-racial squirrel.   Assessment: work, a necessity that requires time. Thus, while we may want to be doing something else, its time well spent.

5:24-7:30--Commute home followed by watching Ryann practice for an hour and 15 minutes. I sat and watched and talked with another dad. Decent convo. Assessment: Mixed bag--anytime spent with your child is a good use of time, but I could have read something or ran laps around the basketball court instead of sitting on me arse.

8:00-9:00--Watched American Idol (note: one of many useless shows on American TV: can we count them please? Lets start with MTV and its cast of reality shows. Maury. Oprah. Sportscenter. Lifetime Movie Network. Infomercials. CSPAN....help me out) with Ryann. Assessment: Complete waste of time...on the surface. But the moments spent sharing a laugh with my daughter, priceless. Little bits of time are major investments in relationships.

Breaking News: Nickolodeon Jr. is celebrating Black History Month. Sadly, this is the first attempt to celebrate BHM I have seen on any media outlet. And its NICK JR!!!!!

10:24--11:06--writing this blog post and cruising the net. Assessment: complete waste of time!

Day 1 Conclusion: For the most part, time well spent. There are a few moments during the day when I can do better.  Gotta get moving, time's a wastin!