PSY feedback4

Some people who have extraordinary demands on their time (e.g., classes, work, and family) seem to use their time very effectively. Do you think that perhaps it's easier for a person like this to make more effective use of time than someone who has an abundance of free time?

Writer1

When I read this discussion question I laughed....as a single mom of 3 the day is never long enough and I always wish I had just a few more hours in my day. My day typically starts at 5:30 am. I am up before the kids to get ready for work and feed the dogs. Then by 6:30 I get everyone else up so that we can make sure we are out the door by 7:30. By 8 the kids are off to school, off to work and I have arrived to the office. I spend all day at the office and occasionally have to pick the kids up from school and run them home during my "long" lunch break. My work day ends usually around 5 but have also worked as late as 7. When I get home I make dinner and try to get some school work done. By the time I do all these things it sometimes is 10:30/11. Only to start it all over again 6 hours later! In a good week I am able to get al my school work done by Wednesday, on an off week I end up working double time on schoolwork and Sunday ends up being very stressful. I am sure Professor Moore can testify to this :) Time management can be very hard sometimes. I have cousins who I am very close with who invite me out and many times I have to decline because I just do not have the time to fit anything else in to my day. My best way to explain my life is like this: a large pizza is usually cut in to 8 slices, the only way to get extra slices out of the pizza is to cut the other slices in half. It can be done but you end up short somewhere else. Does that make any sense?

When I have one of those good weeks I make sure that my family has my full attention. We go to the movies, out for lunch, or do a little shopping. Its moments like this that remind me that all my hard work and minimal time is worth those special moments. I know a few people who have a lot of freedom and complain about being bored, or they sleep all day. I would rather be busy then say I am bored or sleep my life away. In the end and when I have my degree it will all have been worth all my sacrifices. Not to mention my kids see how dedicated I am, and they constantly say that I am the best!

Writer2

I think that it is easier for a person with more responsibilities in life (such as family, work, school, religious commitments, etc.) to use their time more effectively than someone who has an abundance of free time.  I can use myself as an example since I have lived both of these lifestyles.

My current lifestyle is filled with a wonderful wife, two children, two pets, a home that I have to maintain, 2 cars that consistently require maintenance, responsibilities that I inherently own to my faith in God, college, and a full time job that is very demanding outside of working hours as well.  This was not the life that I lived 15 years ago when I lived on a ship and only had a car payment.  Life was much simpler then, but I filled my time with things that did not amount to much of anything.  I can't even tell you anything that I did back then that had a significant impact on my life today besides work experiences. 

The reason why I use my time more effectively now is that my priorities mostly dictate themselves.  Meaning that I know what has to be done within each area of my life and the only thing that I need to do is prioritize them.  There is not enough time in the day to complete everything and the list is cyclic which means that I never do have so much time to spare that I need to try to fill it.  I go from one thing to the next because if I don't, I know that I am going to be overwhelmed and stressed due to my procrastination.  Learning from historical experiences of overwhelming stress resulted in my need to have an order with responsibilities in my life and a plan to satisfy them one at a time in order to maintain a healthy well-being.  We are forced to use our time more effectively when we have these greater demands in our life than when we don't.