I've
been asked a number of times while job hunting how I thought resuming
full-time employment would impact the blog. I've thought about it more often recently and I think the answer is far simpler than I initially assumed. Really, it's just a basic math problem.
So, instead of looking at it
from any other perspective and unnecessarily complicating the answer, I just got out some pen and paper and crunched the numbers. The best (and really only) approach was to identify how the time I spent would change once I started working
again.
I came up with these estimates:
Current time usage
*Job hunting: 10-20 hrs /
wk
*Hospice volunteering: 10-20 hrs / wk
*Library trips: 12-18 hrs / wk
Projected new time usage
*Job hunting: 0 hrs / wk
*Hospice volunteering: 4 hrs / wk
*Library trips: 3-6 hrs / wk
Net change (range)
*Job hunting: 10-20 hrs / wk
*Hospice volunteering: 6-16 hrs / wk
*Library trips: 9-12 hrs / wk
Total new time available
*25 - 48 hrs / wk
Just from those
three adjustments alone, I would free up at least twenty-five and as much as forty-eight hours. I should factor in some other considerations like commuting or getting all dressed up in my whatever my new work outfit might be. But on the other hand, I do walk to the library and I even have to get dressed before going outside, so...
Those figure represent extremes on the range. The reality would likely fall somewhere in the middle. Since I would
require somewhere between thirty-five and fifty hours per week for work,
I expect I'm not too far from continuing my exact lifestyle as is minus
those three above activities. If I batch some activities a little better and take advantage of opportunities for more efficient use of my time presented by the new job, I should do just fine in maintaining my current level of writing.
The real question to consider is whether I would be better off volunteering more and writing less. This will require more thought. Perhaps something to think about over my first lunch break?
