Dobie Maxwell's 'Dented Can' Diary: The High Price Of Time

Monday March 17^th, 2014 – Gurnee, IL/Chicago, IL

Houston, we have a problem. It’s a very desirable problem to have - but a problem nonetheless. I am really falling behind on my work load, and just not able to keep up. There are so many tasks that need doing, but I’m falling farther behind by the day and it’s causing me to go into a panic.

What’s causing me to fall behind are fun things, but unfortunately that doesn’t matter. I need to find a way to get myself caught up and then stay caught up after that, and I just don’t know how I am ever going to do that. It’s maddening, but I have to do something. There’s too much going on around me with not enough getting done, and I feel like I’m starting to drown in my own dreams.

Yesterday was a perfect example with me stopping to see my friend Max’s son Dustin perform in his school play. Did I absolutely NEED to attend? Of course not, but I’ve known that kid most of his life and I thought it was the right thing to do. He was thrilled to see me, and I’m glad I saw his finest hour in person. He was magnificent, and we’ll have the memory as long as we’re alive.

But the cost was an entire day I could have been working. Today I wanted to catch up a little as well, but I had a 10am breakfast pow wow with web wizard Mark Filwett of Lake County Geeks. He’s doing a stupendous job on all my websites, and he’s creating another just for my speaking.

I really need it, but I didn’t need to spend two hours over breakfast talking about the big picture and what I need to get him so he can shine it up and make it pretty like he did with both my other sites www.dobiemaxwell.com and www.schlitzhappened.com. This stuff all sucks up work time.

Actually, it IS work time – just not the kind I enjoy. I want to be writing jokes or working on a movie script or creating lots of fun products to sell on a Uranus site – something else that needs a major tending to. I can’t work on it all at once, and what I can’t get to frustrates me to insanity.

Exercise? Who has time for that? I’m really out of my groove in that department, and I feel like a total lump. I’m not eating like I should either, and that combined with little to no exercise is the rotten recipe that paid off in a diabetes diagnosis. I intend to get out and shake my money maker, but I’ve had a lot in the way - including winter. None of these are excuses, but they are reasons.

Tonight I had an invitation to attend another comedian/soup session at Bill Gorgo’s house. The honor of being on the invite list is special, but although it’s always fun I just didn’t feel like I had the time to spare today. I totally didn’t, but I went anyway. Again, it was the correct thing to do.

James Wesley Jackson was also there, and I needed to see James to give him a fresh supply of his DVD “The 21^st Century Enviromedian” I had made recently. I love hanging with him anyway and we had business to get done. Still, at the end of the day I could have been doing other things.

Mark also runs James’ website which is www.jameswesleyjackson.com. Dan Morris was there too, and thankfully he picked me up and drove. Fun as it all was, now I lost two straight days that I could have used for other projects that require attention. Every hour I’m spending is expensive.