Time

So July was insanely busy on all fronts (personal and professional). Thankfully, it looks like things will be slowing down a bit in August, so hopefully I will be able to get back the "the novel." But for now, I want to talk about time. I've written a lot on this blog about how little time I seem to have for myself and how, when I finally get an hour or two, it's hard to use it to do something productive as opposed to say, vegging out on the couch and watching television.

Just so you know I'm not joking, here is what my Monday through Friday look like...

6 a.m. Alarm goes off and I hit the snooze.
6:09 a.m. Alarm goes off again and I hit the snooze again.
6:18 a.m. Alarm goes off (again) and I hit the snooze (again).
6:27 a.m. Alarm goes off and I hit the snooze, look at the clock, (curse) and get out of bed.
7:10 a.m. Kiss my hubby and baby goodbye and head to the office.
7:30 a.m. to Noon Work (read/pull newsclips, answer e-mail/voicemail, editing, etc.)
Noonish Lunch, typically eaten at my desk or I'll use this hour to run errands.
1 to 4:30 p.m. Work (editing, writing, planning, meetings).
4:30 p.m. Leave work to pick up my daughter from daycare.
5:45 p.m. Finally get home, start dinner.
6:30 p.m. Eat dinner with the hubs and baby.
7 p.m. Bathtime (my favorite part of my day)
7:30 p.m. Put the baby to bed and do whatever chores need doing (dishes, laundry, whatever)
8 to 9:30 p.m. Time for myself (typically watch television with the hubs or get in bed to read)
9:30 to 10 p.m. Bedtime

Weekends are, of course, less hectic. In fact, I make a point of making sure that on weekend mornings we can all hang out in our pajamas and eat a big breakfast. I also make a point of spending as much time as possible with my daughter since our time is so limited during the week. For those out there without children, spending hours reading Dr. Suess or pushing a two year old on a swing may seem like a boring way to spend the weekend, but, honestly, there is nothing I would rather be doing. Spending time with my husband and daughter, even if we're just shopping at Target, is the highlight of my week.

The part where the guilt comes in is when my daughter goes down for her nap after lunch. I always have this debate in my mind whether to use this magic hour or two to write or to watch a movie/read/nap. Most of the time the latter activities win and then the weekend is over and I feel guilty for not getting any writing done. Sigh. It is a vicious circle.

So what do you all think? Am I being too hard on myself?

Better go, my daughter is waking up from her nap...