Velo Dog

All you whiners who complain about having no time to ride because you have jobs, get ready to feel like crap...
My wife, a multiply-published author (more than 30 books) didn't start writing seriously until she was in her late 30s. These days she spends about half her time writing and half giving seminars and workshops around the country. I don't pay much attention to those, but recently she asked me to proofread a presentation she gives on how to find time to write when you already have a busy life, and it occurred to me that some of it might be useful here.
This goes back a few years, to when our kids, now in their 20s, were small. We both had full time jobs, and though I did more child care than most men in those days, the bulk of it fell to her. So, while teaching high school full time and essentially running the household (I do about half the cooking and all the laundry; pretty much everything else is hers) she accomplished the following:
--Raised two kids.
--Got a Master's degree.
--Served on several boards and committees in areas where she had an interest (environmental causes, social justice, domestic violence etc).
--Worked occasionally as a consultant and speaker on providing for both gifted and "at risk" kids (she was department head at her school, and usually assigned those two groups to herself)
--Wrote eight or 10 books, including the first five of a 24-book young adult series that sold more than a million copies.
--Trained for and ran several half marathons, then switched to cycling and rode a couple of centuries (in her late 40s and early 50s) just to see if she could do it.
All while looking good and being (for the most part) fun to be around.
How'd she do it? Got up early, stayed up late, planned her time and didn't waste any. When people used to tell her they'd write if they had the time, she'd say, "How much television do you watch?" Once they said, "Oh, four hours a night," the discussions tended to peter out...

tagaproject6

Television? what's that?

kimconyc

I haven't watched television nor owned a television since I left home a decade ago.

Amazingly, I still know that the Yankees lost yesterday and that the Jets still suck.

bdcheung

yeah, the key here is that she taught high school.

which is a great gig if you have the health and patience for it.

unfortunately, in today's sprawling cityscapes, most people are faced with hour-plus commutes.

My mother in-law is a HS teacher (in addition to doing a lot of EC activities for the students) and has loads of time to do whatever the eff she wants.

Quel

Those threads have mostly been about lack of daylight, not about lack of time in general. But good rant.

Flash

Good story. My wife kicks my a$$ when it comes to efficient use of time.

book links or it didn't happen

Farby

that made me laugh.

benajah

dunno, roommate of mine a few years ago was a 10th grade English teacher and she went to work at 7, was home at 4 but spend from 6 to 9 most nights doing lesson plans, talking to parents or grading papers. Pay was so low (Washington DC) that she didn't really get summers off cause she had to get a second job. All for a job that these days requires a Masters degree in a lot of school systems.

Steve90068

I cooked some scrambled eggs earlier all by my self....I'm going to go take a nap now.

Dio

your wife wrote 'the twilight series'?

that's def pro, im gonna tell all my friends i know a guy who's wife is more famous than oprah

drdhsimon

sbxx1985 

Is there a point to all of this? I read it and don't feel like crap.

Is this a my wife is cooler than your wife post? If it is, good for you. I'd at least show the post to your wife so she can see all the nice things you said about her.

grimace308

naw, its already part of the agreement. dudes in the doghouse and this is just one of the ways he can earn enough points to get off of the couch and back into bed

Run2Wheels

Slackers,
Only watching 4 hours a night!
HA! I watch 5 hours of TV!

Rob P.

For you...

FLvector

OP - you come here to rant about people doing a poor job of time management? Whether it's watching tv or spending an hour or two perusing BF, what's the difference?

You should have had your wife proofread your post, since your point is way off target and very weak.

Kurogashi

you're a highschool teacher and you made that kind of post? shame on you.
im going into medicine, i should get a trophy too.

but seriously, high school teachers have a nice, yet simple life.. you get like what? a total of 3-4months off (including summer/winter/trips/others)? you also work from 9-4, and have a full pention when you're retire?

and dont criticize television.. work and progress might be meaningful to one but useless to another. a person who watches television all day might feel better than a person like your wife.. its all about perspective but a teacher like yourself should know that.

Nachoman

As long as we're talking about efficiency I'll admit that I've been very inefficient lately. I've been so busy (not watching tv, but with work) that I haven't pedaled in about a week.

APKjuniorFL

At least you have a job...