This morning, I was busy trying to plan my schedule for my second year in university. Believe it or not, making a timetable is actually pretty tough. I'm trying to fit in both courses that are for my personal interests and courses needed for my degree. Not an easy task, especially when you only have so many hours in a week. I was feeling frustrated because I was going to have to sacrifice some courses I liked for some other prequisites, and I really wanted to do those courses. And then I caught myself thinking, what is the big rush? What's the big deal if I don't take all the courses this year and come back for another year? Will my future career suffer enormously? I don't think so. So why was I feeling so pressed to complete so many courses in so little time? It's because time is money. Time is important. Time can't be wasted. People will wonder why you took 5 years instead of 3 to complete your university degree. "Why did you waste all that time for when you could be working already?" they say. There's no time anymore to explore. You are expected to know exactly what you want all the time. When you enter university, you are expected to know what field you want to go in. How the hell are you supposed to know when you haven't even had the chance yet to explore what's out there? It's like asking you to choose your favorite fruit when you only know bananas and apples. There's soo much more out there!
I've noticed that feeling in other parts of my life too. Whenever I finally get to do some reading or drawing, or even watch a movie, I feel so guilty because I feel like I should be doing something more productive with my time. When have I last taken the time just to look at the sky and really observe the world around me as I walk from the bus stop to the school? I can't remember... I'm too preoccupied about what I have to do that day and how much time it takes me to get to school. How often do I sacrifice pleasure time to do homework or answer my emails instead? (of course, you need to do these things, but you owe yourself a break too!) When am I not available to reach by cellphone or email? How many "things to do when I have spare time" lists do I make but never seem to have the time to do? Sound anything like you?...
Today, everything is done to save time. Technology helps us complete tasks in a matter of seconds. Why take a walk to your collegue's office when you can IM him the information about the upcoming meeting? I mean, really, why would you waste 10 minutes to get out of your chair and talk to him in person when you can use that time for something else? And that is the big culprit. I mean, think about it, if we're always saving time, shouldn't we have hours of free time at the end of the day to relax? Nope. More time = you can accomplish more things! Talk about productivity! You can do twice as much work, double your phone calls, triple your sales... etc. And that's why we're (the human race) so stressed all the time. We perpetuously try to fit in so many things every day. We begin to cut into other things, such as family time or sleep. We wake up even more stressed and tired because we're anticipating the huge workload of the day.
STOP!!!!
I'll tell you a big secret now... are you listening? Here it is: YOU are in control of YOUR time. You are the one who has the power to choose what you do with your time and who you spend it with.
The guy last week who wasted your time with his questions, your mom who calls you every hour to check up on you, your collegue who asked you to take his shift (and to which you agreed half-heartedly, even though you were supposed to go see a movie with your besties instead)... life is filled with events and people that want to take some of your time. But realize this: you only have so much to give.
But, fortunately, you can almost always (not always, of course) decide what you wish to do with your time.
5 things to do right now:
1) Relax: Close your eyes and take five deep breaths, completely filling your lungs and letting it out slowly.
2) Evaluate: How are you spending your time right now? Take a few minutes to jot down what areas of your life occupy the biggest portions of your time. (i.e. work, commuting, planning, family time, meetings, exercise, sleep).
3) Review: Now look at your list and decide if it corresponds to how you would like to spend your time. Are you spending enough time with your family? Are you getting enough sleep? Take time (no pun intended) to make a new assessment (if needed) of how you would like to spend your time.
4) Take action: You now have to actively change how you spend your time. Evaluating how you spend your time doesn't do much good if you don't act on it. So next time someone asks you to help them, decide if you really have the time. It's okay to say no. Or next time you're tempted to work an extra hour at work, why don't you go and rent a movie to watch with friends instead? (if that is one area of your life you would like to spend more time on) It's all about choices and being able to make the choices you know will make you happy.
5) "ME" time: Set aside some time for yourself each week. At least 30 minutes. And you can do whatever you like during these 30 minutes. They are completely yours. Want to catch up on that book you never finished? Take a bike ride? Or take a nice relaxing bubble bath? Whatever you want, it's up to you! Cut off all distractions, and let other people in the house know that you are not to be disturbed. You might feel guilty or selfish at first, but that's just because you've been conditioned to feel that way. This time will help you relax, enjoy life, and prepare you for the coming week.
Hope this helps. Have a great week! Now I'm going to read that book I've been putting off :) Ciao!
"The time you enjoy wasting is not wasted time." Bertrand Russell
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