Using Time Wisely

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Saving Time with a DVR

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DirecTV: Digital Video Recorder (DVR)

At this time, our family has a DirecTV DVR which records my favorite programs. Then when I decide to watch the program, I can use the remote to play my program. If I get interrupted, then I can pause or rewind the program. I can also stop it and return to it at a later time. I also save time because I can fast forward through the commercials which shaves about 13 minutes off each hour. My husband rarely misses taping an Atlanta Braves baseball game on the DVR. He enjoys watching the game. With the DVR, hubby watches a 3 hour game in a little over an hour. The DVR is a great tool in our home that allows us to watch the programs we want, when we want, so we can use our time wisely on other tasks.

In helping us save time, the DVR has the following neat features:

  • Record series option: I really like that I can record a complete series without having to setup the recorder for each episode. For example, when I first recorded THE AMAZING RACE, I used the guide to find the showing of THE AMAZING RACE. Then I selected RECORD. By selecting RECORD a second time, I now will record the entire series.
  • Record options: Once the program is set to record for the series, I can then select the program and review the options. Since CBS usually is showing a sports program, which can go into overtime, I have set the program to START on time but to END 1½ hours later. After having only recorded half of  one episode of THE AMAZING RACE because a game went long, I now schedule plenty of time for the show to end.  Now, I don’t miss the last two teams to arrive at the pit stop. 🙂
  • Keyword search: I like this option during football season. I am a HUGE Florida Gator fan. (Yes, I know they were not in the NCAA final 4, but they played a good series of games.) Though I don’t watch much basketball or baseball, I do enjoy football. The keyword search helps me to find the Florida game quickly. I just use the remote to access the MENU and SEARCH options. Then I select the KEYWORD search. I use the remote to type in FLORDIA, and a listing appears of all the channels showing the game. This search option is great because if Florida is hosting a team, then Florida is listed as the second team. A regular search would not pickup the information without the name of the first team, but the KEYWORD search picks up all programs that include the name FLORIDA in the title.

Do you have a DVR? If so, what features help you to save and use your time wisely?

Goal-oriented or Task-oriented?

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Goal-oriented or Task-oriented

Photograph Credit: Microsoft Images

Do you find that you start many projects at once with none of them getting completed? This is my daughter.

Goal-oriented

She is goal-oriented and loves to get out different sets of toys with the goal of organizing. She likes to line up the dolls, sort the silverware, and stack the blocks.

If the baby comes over to play with an available organized pile, then my oldest daughter gets so upset because she is not done with those items.  At the end of playtime, she has all these little messes.

She then gets overwhelmed with pickup because she did not pickup when she was done with the silverware or blocks. We are working on getting out one set of items, playing with them, and putting them away before getting out something else. It is a work in progress, but with this system, the pickup progress is easier to manage.

Task-oriented

Where my daughter is goal-oriented, I am task-oriented. I like to select an item on the To Do list (i.e. make tea), and complete that task.

In our household, the kids and I drink about 3 gallons of tea in 2 days. Now, I could make tea everyday, and sometimes I do. But I prefer to make 4 gallons of tea every 2-3 days. I just like having the refrigerator stocked, the tea maker in its place, and the counter cleared off.

Often life intervenes, and I get distracted by good things. But when I get back to my task, I just keep on going. When my task is finished, then I move on to something else. This system works for me, but it may not work for you.

You might be goal-oriented like my daughter, who would probably prefer to accomplish the tea-making task at a set time each day. For example, after dinner make a pitcher of tea. These same individuals prefer to tackle a load of laundry each day.

The laundry pile, like the tea making, is a continuous cycle. I prefer to spend a day or two doing laundry to get it done. Again, life happens, and sometimes I need to do laundry during the week and then on the weekends.

Just knowing how you approach projects might help as you schedule your tasks. The goals are to get things done and don’t get overwhelmed while using time wisely.

Question: Are you goal-oriented, task-oriented, or both?