Where do you find the time?

Sometimes I have that rather embarrassing experience of meeting people who only know me through this blog. I say embarrassing because there isn't really official Crown approved etiquette for  "Ahhh yes, you write that blog don't you?". Especially as, for the most part, people don't know what I look like.

When meeting readers of this esteemed tome very quickly they ask me, "Where do you find the time to write all those posts?". (As a general rule the older they are the quicker they ask that question, which is probably a generational digital continuous partial attention thing, but I'm not a planner so I have no idea about that kind of stuff.) I normally answer, "I have no idea" or "it doesn't take that much time" or "you sort of get into a rhythm" but to be honest none of those answers is 100% correct.

Today I think I've found a proper answer.

Here's Alistair Campbell talking about the famous diaries he wrote whilst working at Number 10. "I kept a diary every day I worked for TB, and the total word count runs to well over two million words. In common with every other person who has seen them, I occasionally wonder how on earth I found the time. Perhaps it is true that the busier you are, the more time you find to get things done. I had a very busy, very demanding job, and a young family. Yet somehow I found time, sometimes just a few minutes, other days a lot longer, to record something of the day just gone."

That's exactly how blogging feels to me.

I especially love this bit, "the busier you are, the more time you find to get things done". I completely agree with this and it fits in with loads of other theories I've got stored up in my beautifully shaped head. Like successful people always get up earlier than unsuccessful people and when you're not winning the first thing you need to do is get winning again.

But the thing I love most about that quote is that it dovetails beautifully with another one of my favourite quotes which was written by someone who is the complete opposite of Alistair Campbell and thus we have that lovely circle thing that journalists and writers and bloggers crave for so much.

The quote is, "Look at a day when you are supremely satisfied at the end. It's not a day when you lounge around doing nothing; it's when you've had everything to do, and you've done it." and it was said by Margaret Thatcher.

Comments

[Claire]

Brilliant post Ben, I agree entirely. I've now been doing mine for nearly a year and have surprised myself with the dedication and time I have spent blogging. I get people asking how I actually do it, thinking I am some whizz on html and how I think up posts.

I'm not claiming to be successful but getting up early is definitely a better move than lying in bed until lunchtime.

[Richard]

I've often said that no matter how busy I am, I can always find time to do something that I shouldn't. Like blogging when I've got an imminent deadline. But it helps. In a small, blog-sized way, it's bit like that thing James Webb Young says about breaking off from what you're supposed to be doing to do something you want to do, so your sub-conscious can do its stuff.

[Tim Siedell]

"the older they are the quicker they ask the question."

So very true.

Great post.

[Marcus]

Bloody planner.

[Mark McGuinness]

My answer is "I get up early to write it". I'm glad to hear that will make me successful.

[Andrew Kingham]

1) 6.30 is a lie in, but I haven't posted for ages. Complete slacker.
2) I think it's akin to running: miss a few days, and the rhythm starts to go.
3) David the designer has a single word to answer the same question - "dedication".

[davidthedesigner]

That's right Andrew - and I don't get up early in the morning either.

[Mat]

I always thought success was 70% confidence and 30% skill, not getting up earlier.

Plus to get up early you have to go to bed early. Swings and roundabouts isn't it.

[John Dodds]

I assumed your minions wrote all this stuff!

[Rob Mortimer]

Suddenly getting up 40 minutes earlier than I need to just to check blogs and email before work seems more rewarding...hurrah!

Great post

[TomLR]

I find mine down the back of the sofa. I've got some spare if you want some. It's HIGH denomination.

[Mandy]

Late night blogging is the best followed by early morning butterflies to see if there is any feedback - its like waiting for the post used to be :)

[Iain Tait]

I've used the excuse of busyness to explain non-blogging, but I've realised that's not it. For me non-blogging comes about through being uninspired - which sometimes correlates with working a lot (but only on things that I'm not very keen on).

Equally if I'm doing things that make me really excited I'll feel the need to blog no matter how busy I am. I might start life graphing and see if I'm right...

[Lee]

Maybe you find some of the time by not replying to emails?
(cough cough wink wink)

[Ben]

Lee - does that mean you've sent me an email?

Send it again.

[Lee]

Hi Ben, yeah I sent you one a few weeks back, must have ended up in the junk mail or something - i'll drop it again!