Time After Time: Ever Elusive and Always There
How well do you manage the 24 hours you are given each day?
How do any of us?
Time is something that will never cease to exist, yet so many of us find ourselves scrambling to meet certain deadlines, book our calendars full of activities with time-limitations or manage to do our best to smoothly ruffle any stress-induced goals to completion because of time constraints.
It's a wonder that none of us end up going bonkers from time to time (no pun intended) because we feel a sense of urgency when tasks are not completed, goals are not met and deadlines are past due because we fail to manage our time effectively.
There have been numerous articles about how to best utilize one's time, how to manage one's time, tips, tricks and techniques on how to get as much done within the 24 hours we have to accomplish nearly the impossible.
Just who the heck made up all these expectations????
We did. You. Me. The World.
But has time ever demanded it from us to behave in such a ferocious way as to ignore the other side of the spectrum? While working hard daily, accomplishing goals, striving towards improving methods and creating solutions to perfect processes...all of that is great and definitely feels rewarding because we are not just procrastinating or lazing about doing nothing.
Yet, the amount of time it takes to spend with loved ones....to make a phone call to a friend who lives on the other side of the country....or simply taking a portion of our morning or afternoon finger-painting with a youngster (be it your own child, a younger relative or volunteering at a kindergarten)...making time to have lunch with an aging parent who rarely gets to see you if but once or twice a year because of long-distance....being there for a dear friend whose broken up over a divorce....all these things take time...but are they not worth more than mere work and productivity results?
Time requires balance.
Everything in balance - that is what I have always been told thru other mentors, those successful in their own business ventures - knowing how to manage the time to accomplish all those things, activities, relationship commitments - is a secret to success that not many of us can attain.
Yet we still strive for it - we still want to feel like productive citizens of the world contributing to society in a positive way through our careers and how we give back to the community. Time is a tool freely given to us and how we make use of that tool (or how we don't use it) will result in any number of variable outcomes.
Starting a WA business takes time just as much as healing a rotator cuff shoulder injury; time is the tool used to determine what is the best way to invest one's own time in the business venture....or in physical therapy for the shoulder injury.
Time gives us choices.
I have blogged here a few months back about taking care of my shoulder after I underwent arthroscopic repair for a torn rotator cuff. 8 weeks of being off work November last year..and I spent the holidays celebrating on a recliner, sometimes taking pain killers and resorting to recurring episodes of "Columbo" on YouTube. 10 days after surgery, I started the long road to recovery and didn't stop until the end of June this year.
Everything else was secondary to my recovery. My shoulder is about 95% back to normal; I still am not quite able to reach my backside but everything else I can do just fine. Will time allow me to attain 100% normalcy? Perhaps - depends on how regular I keep doing my home therapy exercises.
Do I always make the choice and take time to do the exercises? No. Since starting a new job last month, I have but little time on weekends to relax, recuperate and spend quality time with my husband. During the week, we are like roomies passing each other as our full-time work schedules keep us like ships passing through port.
But we make a deliberate choice to spend time together on weekends. Whether it's visiting the coast, eating at a new restaurant or heading up to Mt. Hebo for ham radio testing - we use time in a way that results in a positive, engaging and memorable event.
Learning how to manage time at the new job continues to be a challenge for me because I'm still learning all the processes. It is not as stressful as the first week on the job, but the 8 hours I am allotted to accomplish as much as I can keeps me occupied for the entire time until my shift ends - and then I still feel like I have so much more to do.
Time will never change.
It simply continues on the way the sun rises and sets. Making the most in learning as much as possible to produce a thriving WA business whether it is part-time or full-time starts and ends with what you are willing to negotiate and commit to in terms of time. How often you do the training, how often you blog, how often you post to your own website or share new ideas and resources for your audience - that is entire up to you because time will never change to accommodate you.
You determine the outcome of what you want happen.
You determine how you want to balance all that is going on in your life.
You decide and choose how to make the most of your time.
You have one life.
You have 24 hours in day.
How will you spend your time?
Who will you spend your time with?
And at the end of the day, before you close your eyes perchance dream - can you honestly say, "Yes, I spent my time well today."
Recent Comments
4
Time can be a challenge, for us all, how we choose to spend it can make all the difference.
Aiming to create that balance can help us to maintain our energy.
Thanks for the food for thought, Shalei.
Insightful, Sharon and thanks for sharing.
But I wonder? Who wants to waste time?
All the best, Sharon and take care.