Episode 507 – Don’t waste your time 

• This may not be a good time to ask –
  • you’re probably preparing for the holidays
  • maybe you’re busy planning trips
  • looking for decorations
  • buying presents
• but I still want to ask you today:
• Where does your time go?
• What do you do with your time?
• How do you spend your time?
• Often we say – we don’t have time
• But yet – we all have 24 hours every day
• We are given this time every day we are alive
• My time starts when I wake up, which is around 5am
• So I am already 5 hours down
• I have 19 hours left
• I spend another 2 of those sleeping if I am in bed by 10
• That leaves me with 17 hours
• That’s still a lot of hours
• Sleep is also my time
• Its not time that I actively do anything with
• But its time that I need to be at my best during the remaining 17 hours
• Without sleep, I have more waking hours
• But those extra waking hours are not getting me much
• So I have 17 hours
• That’s a lot of time
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• As we are approaching the end of yet another year, time is on my mind
• More so than during the rest of the year
• Its almost as if time is running out
• And in a sense it is – for this year
• Which I know – is an artificially created way to track time
• But it is also running out for us
• Every day we lose another day of our life
• And this becomes starkly clear to me at the end of each year
• Because it is as if we’re starting each year over
  • We set goals
  • We are motivated and ready to go
• And even if we don’t formally set goals I believe we all get somehow into starting mode when the new year rolls around
• There are festivities associated with ending the year, and then we have a holiday to welcome the new year
  • Kind of lends itself to thinking about endings and beginnings
• And when I look at the social media world – I see a lot activity revolving around goals and resolutions
• I think around the end of the year, we become a little bit more conscious with time
• That is why we set goal
• Why we suddenly realize we still haven’t accomplished what we hoped we would so its time to get serious
• But what about the rest of the year?
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• So here is my question for all of us today:
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• Do you reflect on your time and where it goes?
• Do you think about whether you are using your time effectively?
• I think its time we spend more time on this question:
• Because the answers to this question determine whether not we are wasting valuable time
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I want to read you a couple of paragraphs from a Blog Post by author Paulo Coelho

Time is not a measure: but rather a quality. When we look at the past we are not rewinding a tape but remembering a gift of our passage on Earth. Time is not measured like a road is measured, since we take gigantic leaps backwards (memories) and forwards (projects).

Managing is not living: “time is money” is nonsense. We have to be aware of each moment and know how to take advantage of each single moment in what we are doing (with love) or in just contemplating life. A day has 24 hours and an infinity of moments. If we slow down, everything will last much longer. Of course, washing the dishes can take longer too, but why not use that time to think about pleasant things, singing, relaxing, being happy at just being alive?

https://paulocoelhoblog.com/2016/08/29/timeshifting-part-1/

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• Just because we are going after our goals and checking things off doesn’t mean we are spending our time wisely
• In fact, sometimes its easier just working that to-do list
  • Running errands
  • Squeezing in appointments
  • Getting it done
  • Time is money, right
• I often think this way, and that’s exactly when I am in a state of just rushing from one thing to the next
• But reading this blog post from Paulo Coelho made me reconsider how I spend my time
• And I think that we occupy ourselves a lot with WHAT we do, and not always with HOW it matters
• Checking off things feels great
• But if you are like me, I think we can get caught up in checking things off, without ever thinking about the meaning of the things we are checking off
• The question about time and how we spend it is really a question about the person we want to be
• This brings me back to Paulo’s words

We have to be aware of each moment and know how to take advantage of each single moment in what we are doing (with love) or in just contemplating life.

• Because how we spend our time is ultimately a decision about the person we become
• Avoiding Wasting time is not about making each minute the most productive it can be
• Rather – its making each minute the best it can be
• How?
• By doing what matters
• I think to often we are concerned about the kind of life we want to have
• That is external
  • We want a nice car, a nice house, a solid relationship, good-looking clothes, ets.
  • We seek titles so they can make us look good
  • Recognition so we can feel good
• But we fail to ask what it takes to BE good
• our time should not go towards the life you want to have
• But towards the person you want to be
• And I think when we focus on the BE part first, the HAVE part falls into place
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• We pick lives we want to live out of IG shots and catalogues
• From friends and family members
• And then we do what’s necessary to get there
• We set goals in line with that
• And we run around all day trying to get somewhere
• And in the process we lose touch with ourselves
• we don’t ask who we want to be
• and that is wasting time

• I want to give you this message today as you are heading into the holiday season, which begins this week here in the US with Thanksgiving
• Spend time thinking about how you are spending your time
• And if it is in line with the person we want to be
• I actually believe that a lot of our unhappiness and those feelings of unfulfillment in life come from that gap:
• We find ourselves spending time on things that don’t matter
• They may matter on a small scale
  • A job, money, a group of friends, a trip here and there
• But they are not meeting the needs we have
• Take some time over these next days and find out what it is you need
• Yeah, your list may say – go shopping for gifts
• But if you rather go for a walk, then go for a walk
• Begin to listen to yourself
• Its not about being lazy
• Or shirking your responsibilities
• Its about discovering who you are
• And then slowly shifting your time to spend more on you
• On the things you need
• The things that fill you and fulfill you
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• Just a few minutes ago I called the girl I mentor
• We haven’t seen each other in a while
• For me it’s the weekend before TG and I am trying to get a lot done
• I called once, she didn’t pick up
• I thought to myself – well maybe she is with her mom and a little relief came up – more time for myself
• But after 10 minutes passed I called again
• Something within me really wanted to see her – despite everything I want to get done
• And she picked up
• And we talked
• And I could her in her voice she was ready to see me too
• You know, teenagers don’t tell you that directly,
• You have to learn to read between the lines
• And now I am really excited
• Looking forward to see my girl tomorrow
• The girl that means so much to me
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• I am glad I called again
• I almost didn’t
• And this is what I mean
• Listen to within
• The goals and the to-do lists don’t rule your life
• If we become to dependent on them, we miss out on more
• There is more to this life to be discovered
• Its there
• Within you
• Listen to it from time to time
• Carefully
• Tune in
• And give it the time
• Don’t waste your time just doing what you always do
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• Spend it wisely
• By becoming the person you want to be

Much love