On time

As I read through my last post I was reminded of a Seinfeld episode where Kramer decides he's only going to sleep for 20 minutes every three hours so that he can have all sorts of extra time to get stuff done. Besides the obvious getting incredibly tired and falling asleep everywhere (he stops the program after he wakes up in a bag in the Hudson river if I recall) he finds that he is incredibly bored. He wakes Seinfeld up at four in the morning because he can't think of anything else to do.

I have often said that I wish that I could operate on a 30 hour day while everybody else was on a 24 hour day so that I would have more time to do things and not be so stressed out. True I would probably still manage to fill most of my time, but perhaps with an extra few hours every day I would be able to find more time to relax intentionally. I try to set aside time daily and weekly to relax without the distractions of life, but I rarely have as much time as I would like.

I have long argued for a simpler life (and lived a very busy one). Setting out my daily schedule like this helps me to see how much of my time is used up by certain things. I try to cut things out, but right now looking at the schedule I can't find anything that I would willingly cut. Even on the weekends, the only thing I would cut if I was secure about going to medical school next year and not having to apply again is the volunteering.

So my question is, how do you simplify your life, apart from quitting your job (not really an option at this point)? My time is used in five main ways: the two biggest are sleep and work, neither of which is cuttable. I've completely given up working at home and we jet out of there as soon as school is out. The next biggest is family time--child care and time with Adrienne. If anything I would like to expand rather than cut this area. I love spending time with my wife and if it were possible I would quit our jobs and spend all day together while preschool is in session. Next is relaxation/alone time. I have to have time alone each day, preferably at the beginning and at the end to maintain my sanity and stay connected to God. Again I wish I could do more of this. The fifth is community building. Adrienne and I intentionally spend a sizeable chunk of our time with other people, having them to dinner or going over to their place. I feel like it is part of God's calling for each of us to spend time building relationships with other people (see my first few blogs on this site). And that's it. There's not really anything in my life that doesn't fit into those categories, yet I am still incredibly busy.

One thing that would help would be working closer to home. An hour in the car is an hour lost everyday, though it's not so bad since we get to ride together and enjoy each other on the ride.

I don't think I am alone in these thoughts. In conversation I have heard the same thoughts from a lot of different people. So how do we simplify our lives? And would it really make us happier?