Make the Most of Your Time
I read a quote from the Seneca about time and it went along the lines of "it's not that we have too little time, it's that we waste too much of it". It made me think about how most of us use our most valuable asset: time.
In today's world, we have so much information going around us, connections, and resources within our immediate reach; some say at our fingertips thanks to smartphones and the internet. And even though we have all this readily accessible, we simply don't have enough time and should I say, attention, to pay to everything. I know I do not and both resources, of which we only have a limited quantity, are very important to be our most productive and effective in our lives. We should not waste them.
My grandfather used to tell me very often that time was money. He was a very industrious man who had a day job and a couple of other side jobs and had a very busy life. He made the most of his time; however, because I feel he mastered looking at time and his attention towards the things that really mattered as his most valuable assets. I am certain you can think of things in your life, such as your money, as those must have things that you need to budget. Think of your time and attention as such and budget these also so that they are not spent quickly in our information-filled and very busy world.
The first few months of any new year for me is a time to consider what's taking the most out of me in terms of effort and attention. But not until recently did I fully realize just how much time I was spending on my phone or attending meetings that I could have handled with an email or other people could attend on my behalf. I also realized I was spending too much time reading headlines and stories in the news that fight for the little attention and time that I have available. Starting with my smart phone, I heard a statistic recently that, on average, adults check their phone roughly about 150 times a day. I probably do more. I have my social media, news feeds, shopping, sports apps, and, believe it or not, Whatsapp (with lots of chat rooms with family members and friends) to thank for using my time up online and on the go. I am not saying it's all bad but the extent to which I may be using my time on these items may be a little too much. I could be using that time in other ways. Right?
To get the most of my time and stop taking from my sleep hours (I swear I get about only 5 hours each day), I have realized that I need to make it a top priority to eliminate from my life what I do not want. And I have been putting this skill to the test by asking myself questions about certain things in my life. For example:
Am I protecting my time alone without distractions over the course of the day? I actually have about a half hour at the beginning of each work day where I make it a point to plan my day and avoid as much as I can to check my email, answer voicemail, or have any meetings; just so I could get ready for the day.
Do I exercise or am I physically active on a regular basis? This is a big one for me - I realize I am too busy (spending too much of my time on other things e.g., work, distractions) when I do not find at least a couple of times a week to exercise or walk at least 15 minutes every day or every other day. When I catch myself doing this, I take a look at what I can eliminate.
How do I connect with others? This helps me make time to bond with and honor those people in my inner circle, like my wife and children and family, and close friends or people at work with whom I interact frequently in my life. Time away from unnecessary things makes time for other, more important things. Consider calling a friend versus checking your news feed - It doesn't have to be long. It goes a long way for all involved!
Do I use my phone to be productive or is the phone using me? I love this one - A phone is not called smart for any other reason other than whether or not is making you money! OK, this is not a sales pitch but I now consider how I spend my time on my phone a lot more than before. I sometimes find myself checking my social media way too often that I have now removed certain apps from some of my devices to avoid checking things I do not need to in order to fight boredom, pass the time, etc. In addition, I have removed notifications from my phone for things like my news feed and other apps. I think that it has actually helped me to fight the desire to constantly check my phone and has helped me tremendously to apply my time and attention elsewhere. Finally, I use the Sleep or Do Not Disturb mode more frequently now.
Can I survive without my devices? Spend a day every now and then without your phone or devices. I started purposely leaving the phone at home once a week and while it was very difficult to deal with not having a phone available for directions, calls, messages, updates, etc. I actually enjoyed having to remember phone numbers, asking for directions and reviewing train schedules on print (ha!), and paying more attention to things in my day vs. snapping photos to save the memories - So far I have done this quite a few times and each time I get better at coping.