September starts and many people ask, “Where does the time go?”
I ask that question too, of course, but I’ve also been asking lately, “Where does MY time go?”
(so self-centered)
I suspect that most of it gets sucked into the computer, which functions much like a high-powered vortex fan. I don’t know if vortex really works as an adjective in this case, or if I’m conflating natural phenomena and the fan brand name vornado.
When I think about how I could better spend my time, I fall into the trap of “if I cleaned my room and got everything in order, THEN I could work” – to such a degree that I find myself thinking “if I pared down my possessions, they would both be easier to keep clean AND there would be fewer to take up mental space…” which is when you know you’re in trouble.
In actuality, the physical possessions that fill my room are only a convenient distraction, and the real drain on mental space is that which takes up (almost) no physical space at all – the thousands of pictures, text messages (in PDF form, at that), and word documents I have on my computer.
For one thing, there are too many. It’s a trope but also a truism that digital cameras have facilitated a lack of discretion: pixels aren’t expensive, and you don’t have to choose your shots carefully, let alone delete duplicates or reduce your vacation pictures to only the very best.
For another thing, they’re spread out in different configurations across my computer, external hard drive, Google drive, dropbox, probably iCloud…I didn’t mean for it to be that way, but you run out of space on one thing and next thing you know you’re buying a storage unit. I actually have PLENTY of space on Dropbox, but I can’t get my iPhone to stop syncing when I connect it to my computer, so things are always uploading into whatever the Macbook photo program is called…and that’s why I’m constantly having to figure out why my hard drive is full again and where the perpetrators have gathered.
But then, maybe if I just got rid of enough odds and ends that I could thoroughly dust my room, all of my time-management problems would be solved!
