My Time
Sowell Family's Travels on Gijima
Skipper: Tim Sowell Admiral Tracy Crew Sean & Alex
Mon 2 Aug 2010 13:58
after cockpit, and I have done my 2km row around the boats. This is my time,
such a beautiful, calm and peaceful time, the world is waking up. I have
always been one for time management, and making sure you work through what
you will do in a day, and also have time to reflect on what you are doing,
and direction. The older I come the more important I believe that the most
effective people have their own time, time by them sleeves, where they step
back and look at the direction they are going, and determine the priorities
of the tasks of the day or week. I like to allocate 2 hours a week to review
projects, I have done this for years when I was working at corporate, I find
Friday afternoon, or Sunday to do this. But I use this time in the morning
for an hour to do my exercise, look at the day, and relax, the boys have not
up so I can reflect. The morning here I have the 3 volcano's towering to the
south east, and then the big on to east, as I row past the mangroves and
wave to the fishmen who are heading out for the day, or coming in from the
night out, they go past in pangas, and then the local fish man in their dig
out canoes paddle past and stand in the canoes and cast out the hand nets
out over the water catching small sardine fish. They are block figures
against the morning sunlight as it comes onto the water.
After the row I go and get a coffee from the bar coffee, and sit and listen
to BBC world service news (a friend I have had linking to me the outside
world since I was in Saudi back in the 80s), I then work on maybe this blog,
but I reflect oin the list of activities I want to complete today (or try).
They split into 4 main activities:
1/ Boat projects, today is bilge pump clean and check, put VHF back in, and
look at CD player for possible fixing, cleaning.
2/ Invensys Work (yes while I am here I am doing some) today is completing a
draft of a whitepaper I have been asked todo.
3/ Kids Education: Sean maths, and we will build a wind indicator today
4/ Family time, the pool, sailing, etc today I would like to sail, and have
Sean and I ride over to the beach.
I am sure people think we are on holiday, lazing back, but that is not
cruising which is not a holiday, it is a change in lifestyle, and you have a
job today which is keep the lifestyle. As you look around the cruisers the
ones here are all doing projects on the boats, and activities. Others away
from here local are exploring and travelling, which we did for the last 3
months, and the others who have gone back to US, are meeting family, sorting
out affairs and raising funds for the cruising kitty.
As Tracy made a comment when she met a cruising author here, that she had
stopped writing while cruising as there are too many activities and tasks to
write. I am not sure I fully agree as you can allocate time and you have a
beautiful location, I am sure you can start capturing ideas etc.
But it is a wonderful lifestyle especially with a family, but your time is
key.