Last year I consulted productivity expert, Marriet Visser. My problem was that I never seemed to come close to finishing my daily To Do List. It left me feeling frustrated, not to mention exhausted, by the end of the day. With Marriet’s help, I identified why I was struggling. I was trying to fit 80 hours work into a 40-hour week. No wonder I was feeling the way I was!
From that story, I’m sure you’ll understand why I’m battling to adapt now that I have to spend 18 hours each week on dialysis. To be clear, only 9 hours of the time is actually spent on my treatment. The remainder of the time is spent preparing for treatment, travelling to and from the dialysis centre, waiting to be connected getting connected to and disconnected from the dialysis machine. So yes, dialysis dominates a significant part of the days on which I have my thrice-weekly sessions.
Technically only 9 of those hours per week are from my working day. But still, the point is that this treatment eats up a significant portion of productive time during the week.
The question of time is also complicated by my realisation that I haven’t yet worked out how to adjust my productivity in line with the new demands on my time. So I’m now right back where I was before I consulted Marriet, trying to accomplish too much in the time I have available. Which is again making me feel frustrated and exhausted.
At least I now understand the solution I need to implement. It means taking a serious look at all I’m trying to achieve, realigning my priorities and being brutally honest with myself about what I have the capacity for.
Will it be easy to do? I doubt it. Will it be possible to do? Almost certainly, since I have few alternatives.
What will it mean? At this stage, I have no answer for that question, but I’m sure I’ll find more of a balance in the coming months.
In a nutshell, that’s why time is one of the reasons I’m exploring a kidney transplant. I want to have more time to do everything that I dream of doing, writing blogs, producing podcasts, writing my new book, speaking to audiences, not to mention spending more time with family, friends and my beloved dogs.
It’s as simple as that.
