FREEDOM!

Woo hoo!  The hubby and kids are out of the house, so I can finally do this without being interrupted over one menial thing or another.  The poor hubby has gotten several glares this week.  Why?  Because it’s the new year and I’m desperately trying to not blow my resolutions within the first two weeks.  I’m attempting to keep a log of my time spent on writing, my time spent on my jewelry business, my time spent on reading (which sort of counts with the writing business), time spent exercising, track what I’m eating (Hello, Weight Watchers!), and watch what I’m spending while not harming any family member who derails me from any of the above.  Not so easy.

Keeping a log of your time spent on writing and writing-related activites is not just for the OCD among us.  One of my writing-related/jewelry-biz-related activities I’m doing this week is taking an online class about taxes for writers which has applications for others who are self employed.  The class is free as a perk of my RWA membership, and I’ve learned how important it is to keep a log of these kind of things in the event of an IRS audit.  By keeping a log, it helps show that you’re treating your writing as a business versus a hobby.  I noticed that same topic came up among my jewelry peeps as well.  The log-keeping thing isn’t the only thing I should be doing, but for this disorganized gal, it’s a start.  But for someone as flighty as me, it feels like it stifles my freedom.

I also realize the danger of keeping time logs.  I discover how long it really takes me to do a task and that gets depressing.  I spent 45 minutes in line at the grocery store behind one of those extreme couponers.  No joke.  I’d already unloaded my cart when the cashier informed me that there were a LOT of coupons.  No big deal, I thought.  I wasn’t in any rush.  Epic fail on my part because I could have loaded and unloaded my cart in at least three other lines during that time.  I thought my poor hubby might have sent out a search party.  And the worst part of it was right after I alerted the hubby to my situation behind the crazy couponer, my cell phone died!  No entertaining myself with Facebook or other phone apps.  Oh, the horror of it all.  45 minutes in which I found out how bad off some celebrities are without make-up, that I really cannot afford those fabulous shoes on the cover model of the latest In Style magazine, what Dr. Oz thinks I should avoid in my diet, and countless other ways to shed weight in the new year.

My time log also shows me just how much time I spend in my car.  Granted, I also have three kids and the mess in the van is also proof of how much time I spend in there as well, but I don’t think there’s a spot on our tax forms for messy vans.

But for now, I’ve spent my 30 minutes I allowed myself for this blog post (thought it’d only take 15) and am now encroaching on my exercise time (which may encroach on my shower time and so on and so on.)  So dear blog readers, tell me what time goblins eat up your “free time”?

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