We’ve probably read a dozen guilt-inducing articles about how much time we waste on the things that aren’t really important in our lives. Disheartening, right? Yet, having filtered that information and agreed that some things needed to change, do we still find we’ve done nothing about it? So, what’s your excuse? In the immortal words of William Penn, “Time is what we want most, but what we use worst”.

Consider these stats: the average person gets 8 hours of sleep per night, which leaves 120 waking hours each week. If that person lives 77 years (or 2,800 days or 670,000 hours), they will spend:

1 year getting dressed

2 years on the phone

3 years in the bathroom

9 years watching TV[1]

Now, I don’t know how much time we could cut down on getting dressed or being in the bathroom, but I do know that we could spend a lot less time doing some other ridiculous things. Like editing this blog fifty times!

As percentages go, our jobs typically get the lion’s share of our day. Money is a necessity, thus our jobs gain priority – there’s no getting around it. But, there are things we can do to make our time at work more efficient and in turn, free us up to do the things that are most important to us. See my April 16^th blog on delegating! Here’s a simple test to see how you’re doing and some quick tips to help you improve: http://www133.americanexpress.com/osbn/tool/articles/time_management.asp

Making time for physical exercise is important. Often it’s the energy lift we need for the day and of course, the health benefits are innumerable. But you may not have considered setting aside time for a spiritual lift. It’s important “to recognize that there are many circumstances and situations over which we have no control; and the need to acknowledge and seek out that quiet place for introspection, prayer, and peace. If we do not create that space for ourselves, the world will take it from us. We need to be proactive, we need to be assertive, and we need to seek out positive, constructive, and nurturing relationships to sustain us as our journeys unfold.”[2] It also takes time to nurture those relationships in return!

Ultimately, you need to decide what’s important to you. Make a list of those things. Put them in order of priority. It could be quality time with your family, fishing, volunteer work or having a daily time of quiet, spiritual refreshment. Next to each item, place a percentage of your day that you spend doing those things. Then multiply that number by a week, a month, a year. In ten years, what percentage of your waking hours will you have spent doing the things you truly love? Are you doing them as much as you’d like to be?

If you’ve never heard the 1000 Marbles story, it’s an eye-opener. You can read it here: http://www.ewebtribe.com/inspiration/1000marbles.html