Are You Respecting Your Time?


Time is inelastic. It's flow is unobstructed and we cannot get more. With any resource that is non-renewable, we must show it the ultimate respect. Unfortunately, it is something that we ignore but always want more of. Yet, we don't really spend a lot of time thinking about how best to use it.

John C. Maxwell, author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership, makes the point that we don't actually manage time. We manage ourselves! That's exactly right. We can't change or slow the time continuum so that just leaves us with what we can manage. So, then, how do we manage ourselves?

A great way to wrap your mind around the importance of making the most of your time, is to ask a few seasoned citizens how they feel about how they spent their time.

  • "Do you wish you had more time?"
  • "What else would you have liked to have done?" 
  • "What does it feel like to have the real sense that time is short?"
  • "Do you wish you would have organized your time better to accomplish more?" 

It won't take a lot of probing to find that time better spent is a longing of many, if not most.

We've raised our awareness of the value of time with this exercise. We also understand, that managing time is actually managing ourselves. What else can we acknowledge that will shine an even brighter light on the value of time? That's next!

Time Awareness is Linked to Purpose

Let's see if this resonates. Could it be that not spending our time wisely is a result of not understanding our purpose?  If we have realized that we have been designed for a purpose, we've probably been seeking out every little time saving tip and technique that we can find.

If we are struggling with our purpose, time most likely slips by nearly unnoticed. You may look up occasionally and think, "Wow! Where did this year go?!?" If that's the case, it's time to rethink the value of your time.

If you feel like you are "mailing it in," waiting for a day when you "feel ready," or "I'll be in a better place," you may find that day is a long way off.

Discovering what your purpose is, is not a feeling. It's not about being "ready." It's about necessity and it's about your purpose. Get curious about your purpose, and the value you attribute to time, will begin to feel priceless.

Easy Start, Big Results

Books are a great source for learning excellent time management tips, tricks and techniques. They will introduce great self-management ideas and most will be very easy to implement. Pick the ones that you like and start doing them right away. Make these new techniques your own and understand how they work. Add other tips and techniques as you vet through the many possibilities.

These are just a handful of the great books out there on the subject of time management and a great place to start:


~~~~~~~

Take Action!

  1. What is your purpose?
    • If you don't know it, make a list of things that are on your mind about you and purpose?
    • Write down the things you value.
    • Write down the things you enjoy doing.
    • Discovering your purpose takes a little time. 
    • Be persistent. Gather info, think it through and keep it in front of you.
  2. Be an expert at writing down the ideas that come to mind.
  3. Ask others about their self-management tricks. 
    • It may be a respected mentor, friend or family member.
    • Talk to the person in your circle who is getting the most done. Connect with an achiever.
  4. Read a Time Management book or two.
    • You don't have to implement every tip or technique.
    • Pick a couple to start with and work your way up. 
    • Pick the ones you like.
    • Develop your awareness where you can grow in efficiency.
    • Remember that you're not really managing time. You are managing yourself! :-)
  5. Connect with this Life Coach.
    • Invest in yourself this year.
    • Coaches are friendly, fun and focused. 
    • Coaches are designed for this purpose... walking with you in the dream.
    • The Inquiry Call is free! 
    • We truly do want you to have more life in your day by helping you walk in your dream and be the person you want to be.
  6. Fill out the 60 second, Inquiry Call Form.
    • It's a chance to ask questions and get answers.
    • The form is designed to kick off your thinking process. :-)
    • Why not?

Please, add your thoughts in the comment section.

Concept: Time is valuable and a limited resource. Use it well.

~~~~~~~

Comments

Post a Comment

Click the "Notify Me" box below to receive responses from this post.

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary | A Reflection of Who We Are

Image
What do I say and how should I say it? Vocabulary is a reflection of who we are, but not necessarily who we want to be. It informs our vision of life and oppresses it or sets it free. Addressing our vocabulary isn't necessarily a moral work. It's a creative work! With a quick Google search you can find articles telling us, that it's the really smart people who use curse words in their daily conversation but I don't think that's true. It's more likely a lack of creativity. The smartest person in the room is not the guy/gal spewing profanities. It's the person with a "higher" word stock that breathes creativity and inspiring thoughts that builds themselves and others up. Bad verbiage is rarely inspirational. It may be functional, but don't we have a vision of our life that is more than functional? You bet, we do! Lazy Is As Lazy Does We see in comedy, the lazy comedian goes right at the vile and vulgar to get the laughs. The tho
Read more

Laugh A Little

Image
What is your humor quotient? I'm sure you have heard it said that laughter is the best medicine. If that is true then, maybe we can self prescribe a few big laughs. Bad thinking, that can lead to depression, confusion, self pity, frustration, etc. is all antithetical to moving forward. Humor is the skill. Laughter is the healing. There are dozens of phrases that express the vitality of laughter. Here are a few for fun: There is little success where there is little laughter. - Andrew Carnegie 1   Laughter and joy are part of the beauty of life.  - Diogo Morgado 1   Comedy is defiance. It's a snort of contempt in the face of fear and anxiety. And it's the laughter that allows hope to creep back on the inhale.   - Will Durst 1   As soap is to the body, so laughter is to the soul.   - A Jewish Proverb 2   Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand.   - Mark Twain 2   He that is of a merry heart has a continual feast.   - Prover
Read more

A Season of Pruning

Image
What's that dead weight you're carrying around? Things just seem to unknowingly latch on to us while we live our lives. It could be that sitcom we can't get up from binge watching. Maybe it's a relationship that doesn't seem to have boundaries. If we actually take a real close look at the flow of our week, I'll bet we could identify a few things that are dead weight and need to be pruned. Reasons to prune plants include deadwood removal, shaping (by controlling or redirecting growth), improving or sustaining health. - Wikipedia | Pruning There may even be a few things that are important enough not to stop doing, but maybe we can manage them better or realign them? A good coach will ask the question, "what are you tolerating?" Take a second to think about that. What in the world are you tolerating that needs to be eliminated, minimized, managed or realigned? We want to be able to manage a harmonious journey for the things that are in our c
Read more