Thieves of Time

We've all said it - 'If I had more time I'd ...'
You can fill in your own blank, but write, sleep and walk on the beach more often would probably go in mine.
In an effort to make more time for the stuff I like/want to do - along with a resolution to de-clutter the house - and good luck with that!  - I've been considering how my days are spent - and come to the conclusion that there are a number of hidden but quite lengthy pockets that steal time out of the day. I don't mean looking a videos of cute kittens on social media, although that counts too, but the small jobs that have to be done, yet don't actually amount to much when you are trying to figure out exactly where the day went.

I've been timing some of these stealth jobs, and it's surprising how long some of them take. A good half hour, in some cases.

In no particular order

• Putting things away - anything from shopping, to clean laundry, to paperwork.
• Dealing with recycling/rubbish - putting it all in the allotted bags and then trekking it through the house.
• Waiting for things - deliveries, the kettle to boil, the bus to arrive, the buffering to stop.
• Looking for things - see putting away, above, but also those things that you only use occasionally and have to be tracked and disinterred from wherever they have hidden themselves  
• Opening things. I recently made spare ribs for the first time in ages. It was one of my mother's favourite recipes from my repertoire and it's taken me a while to want to cook it again, with the result that all my ingredients were well past their sell by date and had to be replaced. And every bottle and pot had to be wrestled and subdued in order to give up its contents - so many tags, lids and fancy tops. I accept that they keep the contents safe, but it was a fun ten minutes - and there are some brands I no longer buy, simply because I just can't get the tops off!
• Peeling things - I love cooking, but preparation can take up quite a bit of time. 
• Checking 'use by' dates - does anyone else have a periodic shuffle through the cupboards to unearth the ones getting close to the edge? Or is that just me? 
• Hanging out washing/taking it in again. 
• Washing up or loading/unloading the dishwasher. I always seem to be washing up.
• Watering houseplants/garden.

I'm sure there are a few I've missed, but those are enough to be going on with - one or two can make a nice hole in your morning, without anything much to show for it.

So next time you've been wondering where the time went ...