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LauraVanderkam：Howtogaincontrolofyourfreetime如何掌控你的自由时间WhenpeoplefindoutIwriteabouttimemanagement,theyassumetwothings.OneisthatI'malwaysontime,andI'mnot.Ihavefoursmallchildren,andIwouldliketoblamethemformyoccasionaltardiness,butsometimesit'sjustnottheirfault.Iwasoncelatetomyownspeechontimemanagement.Weallhadtojusttakeamomenttogetherandsavorthatirony.ThesecondthingtheyassumeisthatIhavelotsoftipsandtricksforsavingbitsoftimehereandthere.SometimesI'llhearfrommagazinesthataredoingastoryalongtheselines,generallyonhowtohelptheirreadersfindanextrahourintheday.Andtheideaisthatwe'llshavebitsoftimeoffeverydayactivities,additup,andwe'llhavetimeforthegoodstuff.Iquestiontheentirepremiseofthispiece,butI'malwaysinterestedinhearingwhatthey'vecomeupwithbeforetheycallme.Someofmyfavorites:doingerrandswhereyouonlyhavetomakeright-handturns--Beingextremelyjudiciousinmicrowaveusage:itsaysthreetothree-and-a-halfminutesonthepackage,we'retotallygettinginonthebottomsideofthat.Andmypersonalfavorite,whichmakessenseonsomelevel,istoDVRyourfavoriteshowssoyoucanfast-forwardthroughthecommercials.Thatway,yousaveeightminuteseveryhalfhour,sointhecourseoftwohoursofwatchingTV,youfind32minutestoexercise.Whichistrue.Youknowanotherwaytofind32minutestoexercise?Don'twatchtwohoursofTVaday,right?Anyway,theideaiswe'llsavebitsoftimehereandthere,additup,wewillfinallygettoeverythingwewanttodo.Butafterstudyinghowsuccessfulpeoplespendtheirtimeandlookingattheirscheduleshourbyhour,Ithinkthisideahasitcompletelybackward.Wedon'tbuildtheliveswewantbysavingtime.Webuildtheliveswewant,andthentimesavesitself.Here'swhatImean.Irecentlydidatimediaryprojectlookingat1,001daysinthelivesofextremelybusywomen.Theyhaddemandingjobs,sometimestheirownbusinesses,kidstocarefor,maybeparentstocarefor,communitycommitments--busy,busypeople.IhadthemkeeptrackoftheirtimeforaweeksoIcouldadduphowmuchtheyworkedandslept,andIinterviewedthemabouttheirstrategies,formybook.OneofthewomenwhosetimelogIstudiedgoesoutonaWednesdaynightforsomething.Shecomeshometofindthatherwaterheaterhasbroken,andthereisnowwateralloverherbasement.Ifyou'veeverhadanythinglikethishappentoyou,youknowitisahugelydamaging,frightening,soppingmess.Soshe'sdealingwiththeimmediateaftermaththatnight,nextdayshe'sgotplumberscomingin,dayafterthat,professionalcleaningcrewdealingwiththeruinedcarpet.Allthisisbeingrecordedonhertimelog.Windsuptakingsevenhoursofherweek.Sevenhours.That'slikefindinganextrahourintheday.ButI'msureifyouhadaskedheratthestartoftheweek,Couldyoufindsevenhourstotrainforatriathlon?Couldyoufindsevenhourstomentorsevenworthypeople?I'msureshewould'vesaidwhatmostofuswould'vesaid,whichis,No--can'tyouseehowbusyIam?Yetwhenshehadtofindsevenhoursbecausethereiswateralloverherbasement,shefoundsevenhours.Andwhatthisshowsusisthattimeishighlyelastic.Wecannotmakemoretime,buttimewillstretchtoaccommodatewhatwechoosetoputintoit.Andsothekeytotimemanagementistreatingourprioritiesastheequivalentofthatbrokenwaterheater.Togetatthis,IliketouselanguagefromoneofthebusiestpeopleIeverinterviewed.Bybusy,Imeanshewasrunningasmallbusinesswith12peopleonthepayroll,shehadsixchildreninhersparetime.Iwasgettingintouchwithhertosetupaninterviewonhowshehaditall--thatphrase.IrememberitwasaThursdaymorning,andshewasnotavailabletospeakwithme.Ofcourse,right?Butthereasonshewasunavailabletospeakwithmeisthatshewasoutforahike,becauseitwasabeautifulspringmorning,andshewantedtogoforahike.Soofcoursethismakesmeevenmoreintrigued,andwhenIfinallydocatchupwithher,sheexplainsitlikethis.Shesays,ListenLaura,everythingIdo,everyminuteIspend,ismychoice.Andratherthansay,Idon'thavetimetodox,yorz,she'dsay,Idon'tdox,yorzbecauseit'snotapriority.Idon'thavetime,oftenmeansIt'snotapriority.Ifyouthinkaboutit,that'sreallymoreaccuratelanguage.IcouldtellyouIdon'thavetimetodustmyblinds,butthat'snottrue.Ifyouofferedtopayme$100,000todustmyblinds,Iwouldgettoitprettyquickly.Sincethatisnotgoingtohappen,Icanacknowledgethisisnotamatteroflackingtime;it'sthatIdon'twanttodoit.Usingthislanguageremindsusthattimeisachoice.Andgranted,theremaybehorribleconsequencesformakingdifferentchoices,Iwillgiveyouthat.Butwearesmartpeople,andcertainlyoverthelongrun,wehavethepowertofillourliveswiththethingsthatdeservetobethere.Sohowdowedothat?Howdowetreatourprioritiesastheequivalentofthatbrokenwaterheater?Well,firstweneedtofigureoutwhattheyare.Iwanttogiveyoutwostrategiesforthinkingaboutthis.Thefirst,ontheprofessionalside:I'msuremanypeoplecominguptotheendoftheyeararegivingorgettingannualperformancereviews.Youlookbackoveryoursuccessesovertheyear,youropportunitiesforgrowth.Andthisservesitspurpose,butIfindit'smoreeffectivetodothislookingforward.SoIwantyoutopretendit'stheendofnextyear.You'regivingyourselfaperformancereview,andithasbeenanabsolutelyamazingyearforyouprofessionally.Whatthreetofivethingsdidyoudothatmadeitsoamazing?Soyoucanwritenextyear'sperformancereviewnow.Andyoucandothisforyourpersonallife,too.I'msuremanyofyou,likeme,comeDecember,getcardsthatcontainthesefoldedupsheetsofcoloredpaper,onwhichiswrittenwhatisknownasthefami