Time: it's a love-hate thing

Anyone who knows me knows I have a love hate relationship with time. I love my clocks. I live knowing exactly what time it is. I'm very much a fan of order and control, that is when time is my friend.

I have four children which is when time is my enemy.

I cannot stand anyone who is habitually late. It is so incredibly disrespectful. It is a physical manifestation of the belief that the time of X time is more valuable than the time of Y. Truly arrogant people are late. That's not a dig, it's a fact. If I'm late there are two options: I'm dead or I've been made late by someone who considers their time more important than mine.

I go crazy when I feel like I don't have enough time. It means I have not managed the time given to me, well. Grr. One thing I am able to do well is manage time so the feeling of being rushed is somewhat foreign and uncomfortable. Makes me very irritable. That is not a good thing.

Time management is something I'm trying to teach my children.

When I collected Cole from school yesterday he was in a surly mood. He had handed in an assignment - a brochure outlining how Ireland would be a good trading partner for Canada. He was given two weeks to complete the assignment. He got the rubric back and received a 3- (translation: B-). Wow, was he ever upset with himself. We had a talk and I managed to calm him down.

Then he said it. The worst sentence ever. "I didn't have time".

When my brain regained function, I took Cole through an exercise. Mama's TIME MATH:

168 are the hours in a week (24 x 7)
70 are the hours of sleep in a week (10 x 7 days)
30 are the hours of school (6 x 5 days)

You cannot change these hours, they are what they are, what's left?

68 hours
8 hours are dedicated to hockey games and/or practice throughout the week

Cole has 60 hours. SIXTY HOURS to do with whatever he choses to do. Clearly homework is not one of his priorities or it would be done, better. He was shocked when he saw the numbers. Claire was equally shocked.

They have been given an exercise for the next week. Starting now they have to document what they are doing with those 60 hours. I'm curious to see how they actually manage their time. I think they'll be surprised.