"Spending" Time .:. A New Life Budget

This pile of laundry has been sitting here since Sunday. It is clean, it is (was) fresh off the line, or out of the dryer. Some was folded while talking on the phone, then the conversation ended, and so did the folding. And as you can see nothing made it to a drawer or a closet.

We have already begun to fish through the pile for a pair of socks, a t-shirt, some jeans, or a towel. Folding laundry is not the way I want to spend my time this week. Have you ever thought about the concept of spending time in the same way you would think about how you are spending your money? Well, I have been. A lot.

With 2 self-employed people, one household, no children, and an occasional stray cat, some months we have a surplus of money, other months not, and so we have defined for ourselves a budget of sorts. 

This is loosely how the "budget" works: 

• We each have a list of things we want. 
• We each have a list of things that we need. 
• When there is a surplus, we each get to choose something from one of our two lists. 
• When there is no surplus, nothing is bought from any list, but bills are paid, and there is food in the fridge and gas in our cars, and etc and etc.

So, again, maybe not so much a budget, but the system works for us.

So, now if I apply this same idea to Time, what would the options be? 

Here's my First Draft:

• I have a list of work deadlines I must meet.  
• I have a list of things that I want to experiment with, play with, paint on and otherwise create in my painting studio or on my computer. These are things I may never be paid for, these are things that no one else may ever see, and yet, I must do them, for my own happiness and peace of mind.
• Then there is the list of general things that must be done, let's call them chores. Much like the list of things that I want to experiment with and etc.: I may never be paid for them, no one may completely notice that I accomplished them, and in a few hours/days/weeks, they will all need to be done again, and yet, since we do like clean clothes, dishes, and etc., this list will continue to be done, though perhaps a little differently [Exhibit A: Clean Laundry Reclining on a Couch]. 
• And, when there is a surplus of Time, I will look at my 2 lists: Art things I want to do with that time, and Chore things I might need to do with that time, and I will choose one.

When I detailed this Time Budget out in my head I thought that Chores might never make it on to the Surplus Time list, but look here, I managed to strike a balance: the clothes are clean, just not put away, and a new watercolour series has been started that perhaps someone will see. 

Time budgets anyone?

Comments

[kelly]

hee....i just made a new time list this am in my tattoo notebook. i have been so productive the last week. missie said it best, "because you have a deadline"! i need to pretend i have a deadline everyday.

[Jane]

hi liz! of course you can join. we post on wednesdays. next week´s theme is "street fashion." i´ll add your link. and thanks for visiting! besos-jane

[Susannah]

ohh, this is getting my brain working - love this idea!

psst. i nominated you for an award on my blog ;) x

[Heather]

This is something I've thought about more and more since having a baby. Suddenly, "time" is much more of a commodity than it was in my previous life. And, I find myself questioning more how I want to "spend" the "free" time I have.