The whole issue of counting time is simply a control mechanism to keep the sheep busy and so involved in minutiae that they didn't have time to reflect on anything really important. It took me a long time to understand that and when I did, I was on my way out.
I never understood how we could drive around gossiping for an entire morning (with a good, long "break" that sometimes would run an hour), knock on only a few doors and talk to maybe two people and call that witnessing. In those days, I was only counting about 1-1/2 to 2 hours for a good 4 hours spent every Saturday. Looking back, I was a fool. I should have started counting time from the moment I got in the car to go to the KH. I just wasn't cynical enough in the beginning, and when I became cynical, well, there wasn't much point to the exercise any more.
I had a couple of close friends who would pioneer regularly. They would start their day by doing a laundromat/gas station bathroom run at like 7:30 a.m. and not stop counting time, regardless of doing personal errands or taking breaks, until they called it quits in the afternoon. It always made me uncomfortable because they weren't witnessing for all that time. I was so naive.
These days, with gas prices what they are, I can't imagine driving a half an hour out to some rural call without knowing if the person would even be home or not or driving aimlessly around town, with people you didn't want to be with, stopping here and there to make it look like you were actually doing something. Just too expensive, especially for those of us dumb enough not to have gotten further education so that we could get a decent job that paid a living wage. It still makes me angry that I was such a sap.
Like anything else in this world, its all about how confident you are. Witnesses like to pretend that they "aren't of this world", but it works the same way. If you stand firm and don't let anybody make you feel bad, proceed as though you are god's gift to the world and never question yourself or your habits, you have a much easier time of it. If you question yourself or show any weakness, you'll have every elder and older sister breathing down your neck trying to "help" (meaning control) you.
