Squeeze every minute out of those 24 hours

Life is short, and days are shorter.

That's a good one. I may have come up with a proverb there. Maybe that will show up on one of those calendars with a daily motivational quote. Until then, how about I stop wasting time.

Currently I work full time, I have a family, I have certain social obligations, I am learning to code, and I need to eat and sleep daily. The thing that allows me to do all this is something I've never really had a good grasp on in the past: time management. It is quite simple when you put pen to paper. Just simply write out what you need to do. Next, prioritize those things. Finally, figure out an amount of time that is either required or that you hope to give to each thing.

I literally had to break everything down. I had to figure out how much of my time my job REALLY takes up. It isn't as simple as 40 hours a week. There is time spent getting ready, commuting, and so on. So when I applied this level of detail to everything on my list, I came up with a very clear plan. I also had to decide which of the things were not very important at this time in my life.

Now, my days have structure. I have a very good idea of where my time is being spent. Think of it like a budget, only the resource I am budgeting for is time instead of money. On a good day, I am about 90% in line with what I planned. But that's not all, as I've also definitively set priorities and distinguished the needs from the wants.

This is just one of the many changes I have made in my life these past few months. Ever since I decided that I wanted to learn how to code, each day has been a test. Each day that ends with a few more lines logged, is yet another day of proving to my self that I can and will do this. And yes, I had to actually prove it to myself. Any time I have had a new idea or found a new interest, it would just be a matter of time before I was on to the next. But not this time. This time I am for real.

One day I may be able to write well enough to get my thoughts and experiences down in a logical and entertaining format. One day I may be able to meditate for more than 45 seconds. One day I may even be able to run a full marathon. But one thing for sure is that one day I will be a paid software developer.