Two years ago I got the following mail, went “hmm, don’t feel like addressing this, so I shan’t right now.” A week ago I remembered it and decided I wanted to answer it now.
kind of a bizarre question, and one i’m sure you’ve gotten before, but it always seems like you’re doing so much! & so much different stuff at that - how to you manage it? good time management?? if there is anything you’d recommend i’d love to hear about it, thanks so much
I have terrible time management. The obvious reason I do as much as I do is that I’m wealthy. I made a lot of money in my early career, quit (and restarted and quit and restart and quit) because I was miserable, and then married someone who makes a good salary and decided to be a stay at home mom. In the years between quitting and having a kid (when I got this ask), I spent time and money on having experiences.
When I was employed as a programmer, I had little slack for creativity or socializing. I would come home, be a zombie, and soon after I felt like an active mind, it would be time for bed. (And then I’d resist this and stay up, which…) One reason I saved a lot of money early career is that I wasn’t spending much. I had nothing I wanted to spend on.
I had a lucrative job in the first place in large part thanks to my parents (c.f. Luck is Other People’s Work), who raised me bilingual at significant expense and were supportive when I decided to apply to US colleges. I went hopped around a few moneymaking majors before settling on the big one. Earning was always at the top of my mind. So I have always had, and always prioritized having, financial comfort.
I’m writing this in part because I remembered another post I read about how creative at panels, questioned on their success, talk about factors other than their supportive high-earning spouse, or large inheritance, even though most of them have one. Well, I don’t really have a public image to defend, so I feel okay being honest about this, and so I would like to be.