How Do You Spend Your Most Valuable Currency:Time?

Are you neglecting the things that matter? Do you think you are somehow different than the rest of us? That you have more hours in the day or can get more done miraculously if you just get organized enough? Let me tell you right now, FORGET IT! There is only so much any one person can accomplish at one time. We are told we can have it all, but that is nothing more than wishful thinking. Be honest. Where are you falling short?

This week I was given some tough love. After taking my bitter pill, I decided to open my closet metaphorically and share my dirty laundry. I am a chronic over-scheduler, over-committer and plate-overflower ( I just made that term up.) I know I am not alone in the disease to achieve. A wise and insightful person pointed out to me that I was already operating with my plate filled to capacity before my husband left for Afghanistan. How did I expect to absorb extra responsibilities into my life and not neglect some things that matter? I don’t really want to hear that. While I cringe at the term “neglect,” it may be an arrow that hits too close to home. She told me what is always, without fail neglected first is yourself, because you somehow feel as though you are not deserving of your place on the priority ladder. Then, although it defies logic we neglect the other things that matter most to us, usually family, friends, home and fun. In some unfathomable twist of brain logic we tend to spend time on those things that don’t really matter in the long term picture of our lives. Why do we do this I want to know? Maybe someone wiser than I can figure out that puzzle eventually. My marching orders are to figure out what really matters, place a premium priority and focus on those aspects of my life and cut back or delete those that don’t.  I invite you, no; I implore you to join me.

Time is our most valuable currency, yet most of us squander it so easily.

What are the things that really matter to you?

What are the things that really won’t matter 20 years from now?

Are you spending your time in that order of importance?

What activities are you spending time on that don’t have a great return on investment?

Do you check your email first thing in the morning instead of taking time to exercise or eating breakfast with your family? I’m sure you’ll be glad of that when your health fails and your kids are gone.

Do you spend too much time on social media, email and news and information intake? Unless that’s your job, you will get better results if you spend your time on actually producing “work.” Those things are tools. Think of it in a more traditional manner. Would you spend 2 hours a day reading the newspaper or submitting press releases instead of making sales calls, product development or working with clients? If you’re at home, is Facebook more important than reading with your kids or making a clean and comfortable environment?

Do you spend more time “preparing and planning” than working. Either you’re an excessive planner like me, or you’re on the other side of the fence wasting time looking for things, straightening piles that shouldn’t be there in the first place, rushing for appointments that you forgot and playing catch up on emails that you should have responded to last week.

It’s not what we want to hear, but it’s what we need to open our eyes to the reality of how we spend our time. If you figure it out… please let me know.