Full Time Matched Bettors - Day to Day life

[jakethepeg]

To those full timers here, can I ask how you arrange your days? Do you plan it out before you start etc?

In fact the question is extended to all... Just trying to get a handle - there is a lot to do out there.

Since I don't have a diary entry this year as I simply don't know if I'll be APing from one month to the next, I thought I'd take the time to answer this. To be honest, I agree you'd be best off asking non-full timers, as from what I've read it sounds like quite a lot of full timers often have too much time, particularly during the week...

Weekdays - monday through to friday, I'll wake up and read the relevant posts on TGT. Any irrelevant posts (i.e. sweepstakes) I won't bother with. Anything that needs doing, I'll bookmark and put in a 'To-Do' folder. Anything I can do there and then (WH risk free, Laddies games etc.), I'll do there and then. I then mark the forums read and that's that.

If I'm free in the evenings (which is a rare occurrence) and there isn't much on sports-wise, I'll do the menial jobs - signing up for new SUBs, chasing withdrawals, depositing, withdrawing, checking my spreadsheet, searching for more SUBs etc. The most important thing I'll do is to transfer some items from my 'to-do' folder to a notepad which always sits next to my computer. These are books I have money in and have started an offer with. I'll write a brief summary of what I need to do, and when I need to do it by. I'll then delete those from my to-do folder.

Weekends (and some wednesday evenings) - first and foremost, I never plan around APing and if I'm busy, that's tough. Life is short. If I'm free to do APing, I am always in a position to simply sit down and crack on with my notepad. I don't have to spend time faffing/checking forums/finding stuff to do/filling in forms etc. because I've already done this during the week. I simply look at my notepad and get on with it. I use oddsmonkey - it might not save me money, but it saves me time. I value an hour of my life at far more than £6, and it has saved me well over an hour searching for (n)arbs.

The exceptions to this rule is Cheltenham/CF Final (would possibly do it some other saturday's but generally don't have the time to devote an entire saturday morning to APing). Here, I will plan everything out on a sheet of paper exactly what needs doing when. But then those days I think you have to do that else you'll lose out.

Hence in other words, I plan loosely - plan too much and you're destined to waste time due to rigidity, plan too little and you're destined to waste time due to procrastinating/faffing/disorganisation. I'm certainly not the most experienced on here, and my APing income varies by extraordinary amounts depending on whether I'm busy/out of the country etc. That said, I am always ready to AP if I have the time. Ask me in the morning what I have to do in my next hour's APing and I'll know because I glanced at my notepad the night before. The above sounds very boring, but I'm simply incredibly organised with my time and use it efficiently.

On a slightly related note, I think part of the problem with people burning out/red misting as has happened recently is that they spend the majority of their free time APing, and in reality you simply don't need to and to argue that you do is just plain wrong. Unless you have an unlimited float and have some seriously good knowledge, at some points/days during the week there is simply sweet FA to do. So spend an hour doing some admin, and then go for a run, watch a film, read a book, buy a camera, book a holiday, go watch your kids' football match, skydive, build a snowman, run a marathon, start a degree etc. I think most people on here have this down to a tee, but at the same time some people definitely need to prioritise.

So in a nutshell, before you start planning what to do, you need to plan how best to efficiently use your time. Don't set aside time to do certain things, but when you have the time, be ready to do something with it.

Hope that helps

EDIT: I have the poster in the link below above my desk. You can buy it online (Holstee Manifesto) - it's a constant reminder that 1. Somebody always has it worse, and 2. Time is far more valuable than money.

HOLSTEE - About: The Holstee Manifesto - Live Your Dream

[Mariner13]

Difficult to add much to jake's excellent post, so i'll keep it brief.

Basically, i set aside Saturdays 6am - 2pm (ish) when i will AP non stop. The rest of the week i do whatever i fancy doing. If there's not much going on APwise then i'll do something else, even if there is i may still do something else, depending on how i feel. Like jake, main exception would be when there's a big racing festival on or football tourney, when i would set aside as much time as necessary to AP.

It's suprising how quickly you do settle into a "schedule" ste.

[Stevesharpe]

I spend Monday / Tuesday reconciling making sure bets have been paid, withdrawing where I need to etc. Also there's usually a games or casino bonus to do somewhere. Wednesday & Thursday I don't do much unless there's something on like European football. Friday I do as much as the weekend prep as I can, so any offers I can do Friday get done, leaving Saturday morning for arbing. Sunday I do a couple of hours, take the kids to see my mum and then come back and do some more.

This is all very loose and I change as my mood determines. I always have a couple of SUBS on standby so if I'm having a bad week I can have a 'comfort blanket' to ease the strain. I don't waste time on offers I can't find a profit in quickly. If an offer would be good "if only the odds came in" check again later. Never sit there staring at odds, life is too precious for that! Finally if your having time off, then make sure that's what it is. Don't be wasting time chatting on forums etc if you're having time off, get out of your chair and do something, you'll come back feeling refreshed.

Right I'm taking the kids to snowball my mum!

[goroovy]

Interesting stuff!!

I've been at this game since about 2004. I was a pretty regular poster on SBR .. bizarely not about sport, but humour .. still get mentioned even today even though i stopped posting there about 4 years ago!! Even got invited to a Las Vegas bash all-expenses paid by SBR but didnt go.

Anyway, got into this via a simple pm from a good guy on there with a link to rpoints .. did casinos (which was amazing) and migrated to bookies when casino bagging went down the pan.

I have taken huge breaks .. you have to IMHO ... but come back when funds are low and when its convenient. I kind of go into full-time mode quite easily and then just drift away from it through boredom/not needing the money/boredom again.

Im over teaching in Russia and so have a pretty full outside life I suppose .. theres no TV or anything worth doing at home, so if Im in I am on the lappie ..... and the money goes soooo far here. I vividly remember picking up a restaurant tab a few weeks ago for a table of about 8 people, came to something like £60 but because I had just trousered some £550 from a DD hitting (my first and almost only effort) .. and they are a good crowd so it was great .. really felt like Santa treating relatively poor ukranian/ex-pat teachers .. literally, was a pleasure to do.

But Ttis last w/e was a real pisser ... it came on the back of hitting a couple of semi-monsters (DD coming in, Gerrard getting the second v Man City, a few periods where just everything has hit) .... my bank balance is well up and, as I say, this w/e just sucked .. paddy limited me, everything missed, the whole "money all over the place" feeling, far too much timwe wasted on the laptop (again!!), etc.

So, will take the week off .. no enforced absence .. if I feel like dabbling, reading the forum, etc .. then I will.

But I need a break ... on Sunday I felt I was really forcing myself ... just wanted to turn the computer off. Decided that after the superbowl (in which nothing hit of course) .. withdrew everything from everywhere .. the Bale refund offer doesnt appeal, nothing big sporting wise, etc.

I think as a few others have said, you can do as much in an hour a day as you can in 12 .... sure, an unviable offer might become viable because of odds shifts, etc ... but the ev on most is not as great as they often seem.

Just going to pick the low fruit this week .. and see how I feel next w/e .. if I feel like this w/e then I m just going to be faintly involved I think. Well see.

Finally, I find Alan Partridge's book a great antidote to this malarky .. stick him on the ipod with the headphones and it really destresses me no end.

[MBDiary]

EDIT: I have the poster in the link below above my desk. You can buy it online (Holstee Manifesto) - it's a constant reminder that 1. Somebody always has it worse, and 2. Time is far more valuable than money.

HOLSTEE - About: The Holstee Manifesto - Live Your Dream

I love this poster so had to buy it.

If anybody else is thinking about getting it then use discount code newfriend for $5 off.

Cost me $34 delivered to the UK.

[Mariner13]

Poster reminds me of the advice given in one of my all time fav songs:-

Baz Luhrmann - Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) - YouTube