Crossing the Bridges: Life in Multiple Worlds
I feel as if I live in multiple worlds sometimes.
See if this is familiar for you in any way.
First, there is Professional Me. I hold a job, I pay my bills, I do the necessary things one does to live in this society. I also happen to be involved in civics, as I serve as President of a local Chamber of Commerce.
Second, there is Author Me. I keep this blog, I write and edit novels. I constantly dream up new and interesting worlds. Then I strive to write them out. Then I work on ways to promote and increase sales of my works.
Third, there is Medieval Me. As much as playing in the SCA is a hobby, it still manages to occupy a large amount of my time. Fortunately, it’s mostly weekends, save fencing practices. Also, I will be taking on a new office soon that will require my attention.
Fourth, there is Social/antisocial Me. Sometimes my friends and I get together to hang out, do crafty things, play games and such. Further, I enjoy spending time with my spouse, watching TV or movies, goofing off online, going to the gym, meditating and reading.
Striking a balance between living in these worlds can be somewhat challenging.
I will be the first to confess that I have not always been the most organized person. Despite being a Virgo, I tend not to make and keep lists, or place regular entries on my calendar and such. So coordinating my worlds and giving them each necessary time can be tricky.
So I think the important question here is – how do I value my time? I live in all four of these worlds, but I can only be in one place at one time, and certain things will take priority over other things. I need to spend time in all four of these worlds, but how often and how much is something that I can quantify.
I tend to be awake from about 6am – 12,12:30am. Yes, I know that means I generally sleep less than 6 hours a night, it works, thanks for asking. Anyhow, this means I have about 18 hours a day to live in all these worlds.
Some of my time is non-negotiable. For example, Professional Me. I have to work 8.5 hours a day, Monday-Friday. I also need to give a few hours to Chamber business a week and sometimes to my old job as well. That’s a rather large chunk of my day.
This leaves me with about 6-8 hours a day I can use for my other three worlds. Knowing this, how do I currently use that time? What are my habits? Are they good habits or bad? If bad, can I improve upon them?
Right now I have a rather regular pattern. I am going to focus on weekdays for the time being. I get up in the morning, and usually go online and goof off. I check my e mails, read posts on Twitter and G+, read posts and play a couple games on Facebook as well. Sometimes I write one of the blog posts, or work on fiction. Then I usually make breakfast and prep lunch. Shower and go to work. This is a 2 to 2.5 hour routine. Then I am at work for the next 8.5 hours.
After work I either go to the gym or go home, though anywhere from one to three days a week Medieval Me goes to a fencing practice. Generally after that I either spend an hour or two doing whatever, maybe engaging Author Me, or I simply go to bed.
This means I have from 1 to 6 hours for Social/antisocial Me and Author Me. Frequently these two worlds duel with one another. I want to give more time to Author Me, but sometimes I lack the necessary focus for this. Then the best intentions leave me feeling as if I wasted more time than I should have on Social/antisocial Me.
As I analyze my patterns and the habits they’ve created, It appears to me that I need some new patterns and habits. Author Me seems to be getting the least amount of time, and Social/antisocial Me too much. Since I have stated frequently that I want to further Author Me, I need to give that world more time.
It is time to interrupt my pattern and change my habits. And I have a plan to make this happen.
My spouse wants to hit the gym in the morning. Both she and I are working to be healthier. As a means to encourage one another in this endeavor, I intend to join her. This means getting to work about a half hour earlier. Since I cannot leave earlier, that means I take a longer lunch break. This presents me with an opportunity to devote specific time, daily, to Author Me.
Why am I even writing about all this here? Because in recognizing established habits in my day, I also can see those that don’t build more of what I want. Social/antisocial Me needs time, that’s for sure…but he doesn’t need quite as much of my time as I am giving him. Maybe, by making better use of my time and creating a new and healthier habit, I can build a bigger, better and greater life and balance of my worlds.
This is part and parcel with creating bridges between my worlds. Let’s see what this does for me as I step across them.
Thank you for crossing the bridges between my worlds with me!
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