At least for me, life seems like it is going by too fast. How will I ever finish everything that needs to be done? There never seems to be adequate time to enjoy life, especially with my family and friends (including canine friends!).
Too often, I am left wondering where the time went. Wasn’t yesterday the start of 2022? How is it already the end of the week? How did summer go by so fast? How is it already fall?
I do not want to live like this, constantly wondering about how time disappears mysteriously, but how do I change my mindset concerning time from desperation and despair to peace and contentment?
I have decided to utilize these five reminders to make the most of my time:
1. Do not do everything
I realize that I cannot do everything that I want to do. Yet, there are certain tasks and goals that I have that are higher priority than others. Focusing on the more important parts of life forces me to not do everything.
We absolutely MUST say “no!” to certain things in order to have time for the many good and important tasks in life. Readjust by slowly removing the unimportant things.
2. Do nothing regularly
Several tasks have ended up on my to-do list, not because I wanted or needed to do them, but because I wanted to make sure I would be almost constantly busy. Periodically, I enjoy doing nothing, even for just a short time. When I do nothing, I am able to relax and prevent burn-out or overwhelming stress.
3. Add “Enjoying life with family and friends” to the to-do list
Normally, “being present” and “enjoying life” are not items on my to-do list, but those things must be done. They are high priority. Putting “Enjoying life with family and friends” on the day’s to-do list makes me satisfied when I do it, whether in small ways, such as chatting with a family member, or big ways, such as eating out with friends. I am happy when something extremely important gets accomplished.
4. Reflect often on memories and goals
If we are overwhelmed by the present, we will forget the past and never plan for the future. I have found that reflecting often on memories motivates me to set or modify goals.
Sometimes when I read through goals from my past, I smile because I accomplished them. Other times, I am sad to still be working towards them, or I laugh because those goals were silly or impossible to do. Reading through my goals gives me hope and motivation to continue, and writing down new goals gives me revived inspiration. Focus on life as a whole, but conquer it in small chunks.
5. Do more by doing less
I often procrastinate because I am overwhelmed by overloading my schedule or daily to-do list. When I set Specific, Timely, Attainable, Realistic, and Short-term goals and tasks (shoot for the S.T.A.R.S.), I am able to do more with my time than overwhelming myself with too much. Specific and timely tasks mean they are defined to be done in a time period. Being attainable and realistic means that they are doable and achievable. Short-term goals keep me on track for long-term goals.
Instead of doing more meaningless tasks, I aim to instead fill the gaps in my day with praying, reading and studying the Bible, helping others, and relaxing.
Also, thinking about what I am doing helps me answer these pertinent questions: Is this task worthwhile? Should I do this task faster? If so, how can I do this better? How can I enjoy this task more?
Time’s ticking! So get done what needs to be done!
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