Working 25 Hours a Week

This post was almost done, but I had to completely rewrite it.  I was way too optimistic about how much poker I would be able to play this week.

In my 4/11 post I said that given the realities of my situation, especially my part in the family rotation to help take care of my mother-in-law, my goal of getting at least 40 hours of poker play or study every week was unrealistic, and that the new goal would be 105 hours a month.  (105 hours is an average of 25 hours per week times 4.2 weeks per month.)

I thought that, given the situation, I had set some realistic goals.  I knew that there would be times when I could not work 25 hours in a week, but I thought there might be other weeks when I can get 30, so overall it seemed doable.  I started today with only 5.5 hours this week, but I already spent 3 days with my mother-in-law, so I thought that the last part of the week would be mostly available.  I played some SNGs already today, and Saturday looks completely open for poker, so I hope I can get at least 20 hours in this week.

I thought I had a chance to get at least 25 hours in this week, but new things have been added to my schedule just in the last hour.  For example, I have to leave a one-hour window open for my son to call from Germany tomorrow.  The longest SNG that I have played this year was about 100 minutes, which means that I have to stop playing more than 1 1/2 hours before that 1-hour phone call window.

I could use that "down time" before the phone call to study, but the plan (it almost seems ridiculous to use that word) was to deemphasize study for a bit, so that I could play more, get my bankroll up to $165, be bankrolled to play $3.30 SNG, and make money a lot faster.

There is just no getting around it.  When you "go to work," you're there to work, and nothing else.  When I'm at home, I'm always going to be Available Guy.  For the first time, I really understand why many novelists and other writers go to a cabin in the woods to do their writing.

I have read the books of some poker players who have a written play and study schedule and stick to it, while working at home.  I have no idea how they do that.