As you might have noticed, I’ve not been a terribly prolific poster the last couple of months. You see, I’ve been busy.

I’ve been playing squash and racketball regularly, and going to the gym at lunchtime (I’m lucky enough to have a free gym at work). This leaves little free time, and unfortunately the free time I do have is usually spent in a perpetual state of exhaustion.

After a few months of this, I have lost … about a pound. But I am in better shape, so progress isn’t too bad!

I’m giving myself time to rest as well, at the weekends. But I’ve lost progressively more and more free time over the last few months and, although I feel better for it, I am finding it harder to find the time to work on other projects. For example this blog, and my other neglected internet venture.

My wife has also commented on the fact I’m often aching or tired from the gym. Perhaps there’s a diet issue at play, causing me to run out of energy in the afternoons …

All this got me thinking about the downsides to the gym, most notably my available time to work on other projects, and that made me realise that I’ve been working back-asswards on projects recently. Rather than select a few (or one) specific, high-return project, and working at that until it’s finished (or ensuring I give it suitable time on an ongoing basis), I’ve been finding projects to fill time. Which meant that as soon as I lost free time, I’ve been unable to work on some of those projects.

That in turn is extremely demotivating. Missing a week of posting on my blog(s) creates this sort of “work-debt” - this negative feedback loop where I simply end up not posting because I haven’t posted. Other projects are sitting idle too, waiting on small bits of work.

So, this week is now going to be spent on cleaning house. I’m going to sort out my existing projects - shelve some, organise the rest. I’m going to give myself some minimum “working hours” and base the projects I select to work on on how much I can achieve in that time. Any extra time I can spend on things - I’ll spend it on those projects.

If I can stick to the working schedule, I should find myself in a positive feedback loop. At the least, I’ll be keeping momentum on the projects I consider “current”. At the most, I’ll be putting extra time in and getting those projects ahead of schedule. With a smaller range of projects, I can keep my brain focussed on the important ones.

Part of this working schedule will include, of course, more time blogging. I have plenty to write about, and now I’ll have time to do it. Gym at work - still going well. New squash league starts tomorrow. Racketball - well, that’s probably going to go on hold soon, as my racketball partner is expecting his first child in a few weeks so early morning games may be a problem. We’ll see.

Finally, somewhere in this ridiculous schedule, I need to find time to start training for the London to Brighton Bike Ride (although the person who’s handling my team’s enrollment has been very quiet lately, and the ride is now full). If that’s no longer a possibility, then I’m sure I can find something else to aim for.

I’ve been looking at half marathons this year, a marathon next year, or the Sussex Downs bike ride as a few options. If any readers have any other suggestions though, I’m listening!