INVESTING YOUR TIME WISELY

I often hear people rattle off a laundry list of activities for themselves or their kids and how stressed they are keeping up with everything and their commitments.

How much of these add value to your life and your family's life, and how much of these actually pull you away from what's truly important in your life? I often ask myself that very question.

I am not one to judge how a parent should raise their child, since obviously I am a novice and by no means perfect; however, lately I have been analyzing my OWN list of daily todos and question how much VALUE they are adding to my life and how much they are actually taking away.

I received a magazine at my door and an article called “How to Invest Your Time Wisely”. The article was quite insightful and surprisingly applicable to my life. Here is an outline of the article, which was broken down into 4 main strategies.  

1.       Be organized

a.       Prioritize – Prepare a todo list of things that are important and urgent, focusing on quality verses quantity.

b.      Think Ahead – If you find that you have extra time on your hands, why not move on to something that is scheduled for later. By thinking ahead, you increase your productivity and can reduce the stress of being over-extended in the future.

c.       Simplify Your Life – Learn to say NO to things that are unimportant or only seem to consumer time.

2.       Avoid Time Stealers

a.       Procrastination and Indecision – Procrastination is a thief of both time and productivity. Pondering life’s uncertainties and which decision would be BEST will probably only cloud your mind with unnecessary worry and anxiety.

b.      Perfectionism – Setting unrealistic standards for yourself or others may invite disappointment and even failure and even hinder personal growth.

3.       Be Balanced and Realistic

a.       Balance Work and Recreation – Work hard and enjoy the rewards. Workaholics often deprive themselves of the fruitage of their work and end up burnout and exhausted, on the other hand, being lazy squanders precious time that could be spent adding value to your life.

b.      Do Not Scrimp on Sleep – Sleep deprivation increases the body’s stress response, slows metabolism, impedes learning and contributes to accidents, errors, and irritability. Sleep is a good investment of time and aids in concentration and fosters learning.

c.       Set Realistic Goals – Learn to be content with what you can actually obtain. That does not mean give up on your dreams, but do not let mere desires take over the reins of your life.

4.       Be Guided By Good Values

a.       Consider Your Values – Your values enable you to gage what is good, important, and worthwhile. Good values help you set sound priorities and make the best use of your time.

b.      Make LOVE your Foremost Value – We cannot truly be happy and emotionally secure without love, especially within the family. Riches and careers may come and go, but love can last a lifetime.

c.       Set Aside Time To Address Your Spiritual Need – Many studies have analyzed the correlation with happiness and God. Their findings are unanimous, that those who are spiritual/connection with God are happier and describe their life as being “more fulfilling”.