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Are you busier than normal?

By Michael Stelzner

My days seem to be getting shorter and the “to do” list keeps growing!

For the last few weeks I feel like I have been running in overdrive. No time to relax.

No time to write on this blog. Little time to Twitter.

Certainly no time to read. Not other blogs, not the newspaper, not the magazines piling in my office.

Am I alone? Are these times ultra-busy with no end in sight?

I thought the computer was supposed to simplify our lives??

It only seems to make things worse.

Here’s an interesting story about an experience I had today.

Today I stood in line at the DMV to get my drivers license renewed. Showed up at 8am (as the website said) and was told to come back at 9am (special all hands meeting each Wed.).

When I arrived at 8:55am, there were more than 50 people standing in line.

With the exception of a recorded voice calling numbers, everything was done the old fashion way.

I witnessed a guy behind the counter checking drivers test results by hand.

Finally my number was called. When I told the gal I had notified the DMV of my change of address years ago, she said, “the vehicle registration system doesn’t communication with the drivers license system. Have you seen my screen, it is green!”

Needless to say, I also saw a sign on the wall that said, “No cell phone or electronic devices allowed in this building.” WHAT!

Anyhow. How is life treating you??

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 at 1:24 pm and is filed under Random Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.

  • Ntarugera Fançois
    I'm so amazed to death when I heard Natalie wring that she can not stop working which means it can become her normal way of living.

    I find it true. But I would like to meet her and see if she can work without sleeping on her working desk!

    I can not end this story without asking you to modify our stories whereever you find spelling mistakes.

    Ntarugera François
  • I believe people in the USA are believed to have so much free time by other countries, however I have traveled to Spain and Italy, and let me tell you, they have much more free time. They even have designated times to nap, something we don't have in the USA.
  • Hallo there Ntarugera. I think this post by Michael and your subsequent reply serves to illustrate that government being inefficient and not necessarily a servant of the people is a global phenomenon, one that people in most all countries are affected by!
  • Ntarugera François
    Michael:

    Tell me more about how you manage time in the USA spite what happened last time during your license story. It is good ton from one another.

    Ntarugera François
  • Ntarugera François
    Michael:

    In the environment that I live in, people intend to believe that people who are living in the USA are better off. They even encourage the youth to leave their homeland to come to the USA.

    But the more from you , I feel happy in my own environment where I even hadly switch on the candle. But I' m happy thta way. People here lining up has become a way of isolating others.

    What about your side? Tell me more driving story.

    Ntarugera François
  • I think I am always busier than normal but I just cannot stop working ;)
  • This time of the year, once the halfway mark has been reached and passed, inevitably speeds up as the xmas season approaches. One has to earn the money to spend over th3e festive season, after all!

    As far as beaurocracy is concerned one has to be aware that they don't get paid to be efficient. Government is meant to be the servant of the people, however these individuals at the coal face already disproves that.

    The politicians and officials higher up in the food chain are worse. If the people running these modern systems are inefficient, the system will only be able to function as well as the weakest link does. Scary thought!
  • I am the webmaster of a few blogs, but as much as I love to update them, sometimes there are other responsibilities for me to attend to during the course of a day.

    But as I reviewed the situation, I found that my day was more stressful because of my responsibility to the blogs rather than other responsibilities. So for one week, I put away my laptop, and removed myself from the internet. That week turned out to be one of the most stress-free weeks of my life.

    I guess the easiest fix to a situation like this is to take a look at the big picture, then make a reasonable decision on what is causing this lack of time.
  • I think a couple of your comments show what happens when we're so busy, and how we get there.

    We're distracted by minutiae. The point of your post is that we're too busy, but we get distracted by the story you told about the DMV. Instantly, we're thinking about our own experiences - which is how you get people engaged - but then we're totally off the track of the point - we're too busy.

    I think that in itself is a sign - we can't stay on the main point. I find that a HUGE challenge daily. My big goal is to write a post, or a paper, or an article. But when I do some basic research for it, instead of trying to find a specific point about this film or that book, all of a sudden, I'm reading about the little office the author set up in this beach hut in Tahiti, so I'm wondering how to get to that hut myself.

    I've become a fan of David Allen's "Getting Things Done" for that reason - his constant reminders to look at the big picture, to live & work with the big picture in front of me, is helping me slow down - some!
  • Here in South Africa there is a service that goes to the licensing department, same as DMV for us for a small fee. PS our systems don't talk to each other either.

    As far as always being busy, as the year continues the amount of projects and clients increase and so would the number of tasks to do, leading up-to the end of the year when it resets and starts again.
  • It bewilders me how the bastion of capitalism in the world still has not privatized the DMV. Even certain provinces in Canada (yes, "socialist" Canada) like Ontario and Alberta have turned over service to independent operators.

    It's made a huge improvement with more offices in more locations operated by people motivated to give good service. Now it takes me about 10 minutes to renew my license -- including waiting in line and getting my picture taken.

    I highly recommend it!

    ~Graham
  • I think you need to take holiday. Usually I couldn't get any new ideas when I feel stuck with the busy days. All I want to do just to finish my day as fast as possible where in turn cause me to do my activity perfunctorily. Taking a week holiday usually help me to get out from this problem. I hope it works for you too.
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