Padding time was the way to survive and get ahead: When I first started going door-to-door in 1969, our time was not yet accepted, but we were encouraged to turn it in as a way to get us in the habit. I thought that we could only count time at the doors where we actually talked to someone. I felt that 10 hours was a hard goal to meet.
Coaching to be "Balanced": My Book Study Conductor (who later left the religion) told me that we count time starting at the moment we enter the territory until we leave. He said our visible presence was also a "witness" because people could see who we were and respond by not answering their doors, thus making their decision knwon. He said, balance is needed when counting time.
More balance: After my Boook Study Conductor moved, I was appointed a "Servant" (before the Elder arrangement) and had become very active, about 30 or 40 hours a month. How did I do this? Easy. If a co-worker asked me a question about my beliefs, I talked as long as I could ... but, I later made note of the time and "rounded off". On my way home from work, I would make a stop or two at the local laundry mats, leave old issues, and count the time and placements. On Saturday, I rounded up time as well, as noted in above comments ... and others did this too ... I just copied them.
Even more balance: I checked out territory that required long driving time to get there ... at the coast ... and would stop for gas, make a placement of a magazine, and start my time ... drive at or slightly under the speed limit ... and then make 'not-at-home' calls from the feild service records other gave me. I also allowed myslef break time and included this as part of my overall time.
Even more and more balanced: I would arrive at Bible Studies 15 to 20 minutes early, and when done sit around and accept more coffee ... and stretch the time to two or three hours ... all legitimate because we talked a lot about the "TRVTH".
More Balance yet: Then some COs started encouraging taking a break and continuing to count the time ... like we could at work. And I learned the nice little habit of not noting my time until the next day ... this way, my memory was more fuzzy ... so I would feel that the 1.5 hours I put in on Saturday was really 2 hours ... I left the house at 8:45, met at 9:00 and got home about 12:30 ... surely by subtratcing the 30 minutes round trip driving to and from the Kingdom Hall means that I must have put in 3 hours.
Then even MORE balance: Someone, a CO I think, told us that our time should really start when we leave the Hall from our meeting for Service. Why? Because our presense in the territory, as noted above is a 'witness' and the fact that people see us leaving for our field activity really starts that 'witness.' So, this added another 30 minutes to my time.
More rationalized Balance!: Then, I figured that when I drive to the Hall, people get the same "witness" when I pull out of my driveway ... I am carrying my bookbag, in a suit, and they all know who I am ... so, my time shouls start at 8:45 when I leave, and continue until I return home when they see me get out of my car in my driveway ... an empty field service bag.
Then some extra point balance: When giving the Public talk we were told to count an hour because nonbaptized-JWs studies were in the audience ... how novel, and this was extended to the 15 minute Instruction talk too ... not officially, but many Elders did that ... I counted Christmas dinner (we called it a seasonal family get together), and wlks and talks with non-JW family.
That is how it is done: JWs who want to survive and get ahead find all sorts of creative ways to count time ... yes, there is honest effort to talk about the religion, to leave literature ... but the time reporting is eventually measured by the total effort it took to get there from here ... go to pick up Pizza for dinner ... while at the store waiting for the pizza to be cut and boxed, say a few words about living in paradise eating pizza for free ... and va-voom, I have started a discussion about the4 new system ... with humor ... and if there was a slight response, I would milk it to give a little witness ... and then zappo-whappo ... my total pizza trip from driveway to store and back to driveway ... was another 45 minutes ... rounded to an hour he next day when I was fuzzy about time.
Was it dishonest?: It depends ... according to a rationalized mind ... it was perfectly okay. I was being prudent to find ways to minister ... and make sure my time counted and that all the time was counted too ... I felt that most JWs did more than they claimed, and that if they were just a little more observant to their time, they could count more, and feel better ... less guilt.
When I became Congregation Secretary, I shared the secret: I used my own pattern of counting time to encourage Publishers I called by prompting them to see how they got more time than they realized. Typical questions were: "Did you talk to someone at the store or laundromat?" They would finally recall some event where they witnessed to someone ... maybe on the bus ... and I got them to see that though they may not have done all the talking on the bus ... the very fact that they were sitting next to the person who now knows they are a JW, and making effort to talk to them, and then politely listening, is an act of Service ... and soon, the would-be 10 minute Publisher had accumulated 2 hours to report by phone.
using the above method, and Service Meeting parts: Before long many JWs were feeling less guilt ... and we reduced our 'inactive list' from about 20 to 0. We reduced our irregular list from about 35 to 0. the Circuit Overseer was pumping us for how we moved from the armpit of the circuit to the shining stars with triple the number of Reg and Aux pioneers. And no inactive or irregular publishers.
Looking back now, ten years after I left: What a sad joke and silly way to reason and misuse one's time. I felt good at the time thinking I was helping weak JWs into seeing creative ways to count time and end the guilt ... but I was missing what Christianity was all about ... I lost what small amount of Christianity I had as a Catholic when I became a JW ... I had become the product of creative nonsense in a fantasy world of a JW self-delusion.
