I’m talking about those sneaky evening hours that strangely disappear into the abyss. But first…
THANK YOU SO MUCH for all the kind comments on yesterday’s post!!! I love all the support, and GREAT suggestions. Next up is shoes… I would normally say it’s going to be difficult, but you know what? I found the dress so easily, after practically turning it into an international incident in my mind. It just goes to show… for every problem, there’s a solution. Stomach bulge? There’s only a zillion other middle aged women who have that issue- of course they make dresses for it.
Anyway… we’ll get into all the rest soon (hair… makeup… jewelry… shoes). You guys gave me great suggestions, and I’m confident I can work it out. For now, I’m wondering where in the world the hours in the evening go???
In a recent post, SHU shared that she’s going to track her time this week. I’m thinking of just tracking the evening hours, because I seriously can’t seem to get anything done between dinner and bed. I have a suspicion that dealing with frequent interruptions by family members makes the time feel disjointed, and therefore unsatisfying. For example…
This evening, my daughter decided to talk to me about a problem she’s having. When I offered a solution, she shouted “You’re so immature!” and flounced out of the room. Thirty minutes went by, where I tried to regain my focus and work on a blog post. My daughter reappeared suddenly. “It’s just that…” Deep dive into current issue.
(Side note- for those of you who don’t have a teenage daughter, I recommend Inhale Exhale by Nicole MacPherson as a reference guide).
Have you ever done time tracking?
Does your evening ever feel… strangely short?
Top photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash
19 Responses
My evening hours often drag, because I’m usually waiting for someone to do something or to go to bed. But I’ll admit the early afternoon flies with little to show for it. They’re usually my least productive hours.
And teenage daughters- mood swings and the combination of clinging and pushing away alway a joy. /sarc
I think that’s what it’s like when kids are younger- you’re just waiting for bedtime. Now my daughter usually goes to bed later than I do.
I never managed to follow time tracking because time flies. I would worry less of not being productive in evening hours when kids are around. they don’t stay with me forever, so I’d be happy to attend their long chats when they indulge me. 🙂
Yes!!! I’m definitely happy to talk to my daughter because it’s not much longer that she’ll be out of the house and on her own (sob). Still… it really drains those hours away.
I agree re: evening hours. From the time I get Minnie at school until kid bedtime, I get NOTHING done for me and end up exhausted.
Well- you have MUCH more going on than I do! You don’t get anything done for yourself, but you’ve got multiple kids to get to different activities and fed. That’s an accomplishment!
My evening hours are precious since I work all day. But it’s usually errands or running and to bed early with a book.
My hubby plays tennis most nights so it’s my time.
You will get there soon. Time flies.
I know. This is not forever. I try to tell myself that I’ll miss these days when my daughter goes to college.
I have mixed feelings on being more efficient with time at night. On the one hand, yes it’s several hours that are up for grabs. On the other hand, by the time we get there, we’ve been through all of the drama of the day and I don’t think it’s wrong to take the time to relax. Or to weigh in on family member issues and be told that we’re immature. Nicole really nailed teenage girls, that’s for sure.
The nights are longer now that the kids are at school and Doggo is no longer a puppy. It’s nice.
It’s not even like I want to be super productive, but I’d at least like to read my book!!! How is that not happening???
I don’t have a lot of time for myself in the evenings because I go to bed early so I can run before work. I usually get home from work around 5:30, I get everything ready for the next day, I often do a strength workout or go to the apartment gym for a short treadmill run, shower, make dinner, relax on the couch for maybe 20 minutes and then suddenly it’s 8 pm and I’m getting ready for bed. I don’t really have a solution for this problem other than finding a job that lets me WFH so I could get some of this other stuff done during the work day and not have to spend my evenings this way.
Yes, with your early schedule I can see how there’s barely any time in the evening. WFH would be perfect for you… maybe someday?
Jenny! Thank you for the shoutout!!!
I am completely inefficient in the evening. I finish dinner, leave the cleanup to Rob, and then I go and put on my jammies and do my face/ teeth/ feet routine. I sit on the couch and read while Rob watches sports or something, and then I go to bed. I mean, I used to do more things in the evening, but these days that is IT.
Sorry to hear you’re so immature! Lol. Teen girls, whatcha going to do. I remember telling my dad that he was “giving me stress” and he flipped. “Stress??? You don’t know what stress is!!” Ah, the fires of youth.
Ha ha… I love your dad’s response. It’s so true… just wait till you have kids and a mortgage! Then you’ll know what stress is!
‘You’re so immature’ is actually so funny coming from a teen!!! (I mean – what does that even mean to someone in middle age!?!?!). BUT, I’m glad she felt like she could go back and talk some more. It’s so unpredictable when kids seem to need us and which kid is neediest (in my house) seems to rotate rapidly. I will be excited to see your time tracking!!!
I have been talking about this FOR YEARS. I get home from work, walk the dog, throw my body around in some semblance of a workout, make dinner, eat dinner, MAYBE HAVE AN HOUR to do something (blog, watch tv, read, stare in the middle distance thinking about the future of the planet), and then I take the dog out and start getting ready for bed. I would LOVE my job if it were a part-time job and I could workout and walk the dog earlier in the job, but that is not where I am in my life. I just have to deal with the fact that no housework or thinking about long-term things will happen until the weekends. *sigh* Anyway. Solidarity.
So for us, the evening hours do not fly by… Many nights the boys are irritating each other and fighting over something and someone cries. I look at my watch to see how soon they can start their evening show (7pm is the start time for that)… But on nights when we have an activity like piano or swimming, the time does go by quickly. Paul goes up to bed around 8:15 then Phil and I watch a show for 45 minutes, and then I go up to read for about an hour. My parents usually keep the boys for a week in August and we marvel at how long the evenings are and how we have so much time to exercise, spend time together, etc. But those kid-free nights feel long in a different way!
How ridiculous that A told you that you were being immature. LOL.
Teen girls. Well it is always interesting. Ask me how I know this?
I do zero time tracking. Trying to get to bed before 11:00 is about as close as I get to paying attention to time.
My evenings ALWAYS feel short, and I’m not even dealing with these tiny interruptions like you are! I don’t understand where the time goes or what I’m doing with my life that it’s suddenly 9pm and I haven’t even started my evening routine. Gah! I’m going to do time-tracking at some point. Maybe next month.