You are on to something with trying to limit "screwing around" time. That may be the more important thing here . . . not the percentage of time you are setting aside for personal projects.

FWIW, since you are just setting out professionally and outside the immediate sphere of your family, please consider setting up projects for all dimensions of your life. I'm suggesting excercise, family, etc. may need projects. Plan to spend some time with someone you trust to work on the higher level GTD stuff, and I would suggest that you include at least one person a couple generations or more ahead of you when you do this. Don't underestimate the value of life experience.

I had a major time management problem last term. I was a very avid climber, ready to go competitive, but suddenly never found the time. I stayed at my office?either working on my own papers or correcting students' work?usually until 1 AM every day. It seems I had the opposite problem to you: no free time to squander (forgive the term).

I had to create projects for everything. It seems to flow naturally: you need a training regimen to improve skill, that's a natural project right there!

That's what stinks about being a student and (as I've now learned) a teacher. It's pretty much the nature of the role that your work seeps into your "free" time. Even if one's got enough free time to handle the other work, sometimes work has the tendenacy to expand to fill the available time, rather than the other way around.

I can have the same problem. I run a consulting business, which is very easy to be motivated to get things done, and done quickly when they’re for clients.

Then again, it’s a company, with a website, timelogs, bookeeping, etc. As it’s a software company and nominally puts out products as well, I have to get myself motivated to do things that are “non-billable” as well, and to not drift off with those.

In my hourly client work, I am meticulous about keeping timelogs. I’ve had quite a bit less success in diligently pounding away on non-billable tasks, working similar quantities of hours as you did when I was only doing product work.

I’m currently keeping time logs about what I’m doing when they aren’t billable customer hours. This data helps me be mindful of what I’m doing at all times. Just like in meditation, it allows me to go, “Oh look, I’ve been doing websurfing on contracts for 2 hours, I should probably make a choice and get back to paid work”. We’ll see if I keep up with the experiment, but so far it’s working well

 --Michael

I work as a professional photographer and it is easy to have all my creative energy absorbed by assignments and related activities. In the past it was difficult to be absorbed in photography all day and then come home and think about doing personal work. Or during the day for that matter.

For me has worked is to set a goal and stick to it. It follows the same logic to habitually tend to action-based email.

What I have done is set a goal to shoot at least two rolls of black and white film every week, process, contact, and make 3 8x10 silver prints. Forcing myself into the darkroom keeps me miles away from my all digital professional life. And I made this agreement with another photographer and we meet every Saturday or Sunday morning at a cafe to check up on our progress.

I post these things on my blog Scooter in the Sticks and find the time and energy invested in personal work brings returns in my personal and professional life.

I think the idea of carving 20 percent of your time for personal projects is worth serious attention. I'll have to see if my employer agrees...

Steve Williams
Scooter in the Sticks