This year is already more than half over and it seems to be flying by. I have been doing a lot of soul searching lately; trying to figure out the best way to use my time, wanting to set meaningful goals, and trying to make the most of every day. I wish there were some easy rules or guides that you just do x,y,z and.... well, it all leads to something worthwhile. This is not a "I don't know what I want to do" post, its a "how do I enjoy all the steps along the way" post. So here are some of the thoughts I have been working on.
Time. Time is the great equalizer, we all only get so much of it, and we rarely know how much. Time is also an illusion, why else does it fly by when things are great but drag along when we do things we don't enjoy? But all that said, I think it can be really useful to help us make our decisions. So I've come up with some pseudo-scientific way to judge my time use.
1. 60 hrs. Here is the deal, I think each one of us has about 60 hrs each week to do productive things with. Once you take out sleeping, eating, paying bills...... and once you factor in some rest and relaxation time you have about 60 hrs left. If you work a 40 hr a week job that leaves you with only about 20 hrs to do other things. So I have to ask myself how to get the most out of that time. (Currently I am trying to spend about 16 hrs at an investment property and the other 4 hrs exercising) So if I want to hit those time goals I have to structure my days.
2. Double use the time you have. So audio books while I commute and brown-bagging it so I can run errands during lunch. If I can accomplish multiple things at once, it's like finding extra hours in the day.
3. Planning shopping trips. I used to go to Home Depot before doing a project and buy only what I needed for that day. That meant driving back if I forgot something or when something broke. Now I only go to the Depot if I am buying the stuff for at least 3 projects/days worth of work. That way if I hit a snag I can just move on to something else. No more wasting 2-3 hours every weekend just to get a 3 hour project done.
4. Using the time-test. Basically, you just ask yourself "is what I am doing going to stand the test of time?" The longer an event or a decision is talked about or has an affect, the more valuable and important it is. So, at the end extreme of this would be the day I was married or our honeymoon. That is stuff that we will talk about for the rest of our lives. Quality time spent with my wife would also fall into this category so would the trips we take and time with our family. Now, the opposite end is the stuff that doesn't matter in a few days or weeks. The TV shows I watch are a great example of this. When we go on vacation and don't watch TV for a week, it makes 0 difference in my life. Another is junk food, I could eat at home most nights and then a few nights go out to some really great restaurant. I bet you can't remember the junk food you ate in June, but you could still remember a great meal you had at a new place in town.
I didn't mean for this to become some "how-to" post or make it seem like I have all this stuff figured out. But writing it down makes it all more real to me and I think it will help me follow through more often. Besides, one of the great things about blogging/writing is how it allows you to think things through and realize what you really want to say.
Thanks for the read.
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