Every quarter I do up a new schedule for myself. This allows me to see how my weeks are going to look in a global way, then I can focus in on what I need to do within each day. Theoretically this should keep me on track and on schedule, but I am not as good at the daily part of it as I should be. I want to get some specific things done this quarter, so I am being very thoughtful now.
When I made up my schedule I paid particular attention to the time I have to knit. I have projects I want to move forward, so I need to be able to decide how much knitting I can actually get done. As you probably know, it is assumed that people who do what I do sit around and knit all the time. In my world, I knit mostly after 7 pm on weeknights (and I make dinner in there too) and before about 10 pm. Some nights I don’t get to knit until later. Friday nights are reserved for the cocktail hour which means I have to have knitting suitable for that, or else I look at magazines. Saturdays evenings too are reserved for socializing, although sometimes it turns out to be knitting night. I might get a little extra knitting in on Sunday, but with laundry, ironing, running, cooking (I often making things for use later in the week), taking a bath, and reading the newspaper, that doesn’t always happen.
My Q1 2015 schedule revealed about 12 hours of knitting time every week. I might get more, or less, in any week, but my schedule is pretty tight overall, so if I need more knitting time, I have to take that time from something else. You can see my schedule here. 
When all is said and done, because I like to sleep and read each night, I end up with very little unscheduled time in my week. This begins to help me make decisions about what kind of knitting projects I can take on, and what projects I need to work with others to accomplish. Suddenly, I don’t feel so bad about not doing all my own knitting. Further, it explains why my projects only get done when I am very strict with myself about not allowing distractions.
You can create a schedule like this for yourself. I’ve put an Excel file here, a pdf here, and you can Email us! if you need it in another format (tell me what format). You can do this on a paper calendar or a blank electronic calendar, but it is really helpful and has the added benefit of letting you see what you do every day.
For years I tried cheating this system. I can assure you it doesn’t work. Despite my best possible efforts, I cannot find extra hours anywhere. Stay tuned here or through Bust Your $tash.
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