Tic-Toc, Tic-Toc, Soon I Will Be Master of the Clock!

"The only reason for time is so that everything doesn't happen at once."

-Albert Einstein

Now that I finished reading "the Happiness Project," I started dedicating some serious energy to my studies on Time Management.  I did not get any personal recommendations for books dealing with this topic, so I decided to save some money and visit my local library.  I was pleasantly surprised and overwhelmed, all at the same time.  

Good news: They actually had quite a few books on the subject. 

Bad news: Now it was my job to choose one. 

I checked out a total of four books (after spending a few minutes trying to eliminate a few others from my stack), then stopped by the post office to pick up a package that had come while I was on a trip and found the postman locking the door.  He informed me that the post office was closed.  Then the conversation degenerated.

Postman: The post office is closed, you'll have to come back tomorrow.

Me: Seriously?  When does it close?

Postman: Five.

Me: (looking at my cell phone for the time) But it's just barely five o'clock now.

Postman: Well, we go by postal time.

Me: Look, I'm a Flight Attendant, I'm never around.  Is there any way I can just get this package?  I see that there are still other customers in there.

Postman: The post office is closed.

Me: Yeah, you mentioned that already. 

I turned to go and heard the postman mutter something like "I'm sorry," to which I could respond in no other way than by muttering, "no, you're not." 

Bad news: In my quest to find enlightenment on the subject of time management, I wasted enough time deciding what books to check out that I didn't make it to the post office before they closed.  Now I have to make another trip.  I think my sister would call this an "epic fail" on my part. 

Good news: I don't think the postman heard me mutter my last comment (which, once I'd calmed down, I was mortified at myself for even allowing to escape my lips) and I managed not to get myself arrested for harassing a government employee. 

I calmed myself down by venting at my boyfriend in the middle of Game Stop (and in the process frightened the poor girl that works there, oops) and then stopping by the ice cream truck to get a chocolate custard cone with chocolate sprinkles.  The bf got vanilla custard with cherry coating.  Of course, I had to taste it.  I decided that the cherry coating tastes like wax, which strengthens my conviction that there is nothing in the world as wonderful as chocolate.  

Since that whole episode, I have started reading two of the books.  Yes, simultaneously.  The first one I opened, for no other reason than it being small enough to fit in my purse, is entitled "Manage Your Time to Reduce Your Stress" by Rita Emmett.  She apparently also wrote a book called "The Procrastinator's Handbook," which I should probably buy and laminate and read like the bible.  As far as I can tell from the little progress I've made with this book, it deals a lot with the topic of stress and less with the topic of time management.  Then again, I am still reading the first chapter which deals exclusively with "getting control of that stress."

The second book I started working with, which I think will be the main one of the two books, is called "the Everything Time Management Book," by Bob Adams.  I generally don't like serial "do it yourself" types of books (e.g. the dummies books); however, I own two books from this "everything" label that deal with being a bridesmaid, and have found them to be quite comprehensive.  So far, I like this book a lot.  It starts by making you focus on what kind of relationship you have with time and why.  I think it's a great place to start; in a way it is like going to a doctor that finds the root cause of your symptoms rather than treating them all individually.  

I would write more about what I've learned so far, but it is quite late and I have to get up early tomorrow to go to the post office before going to work.  Now that I am studying and honing my time management skills, I would not want to start the day off so late that the expectation to finish everything that I'd like to do tomorrow becomes unrealistic.  

Good night, world!