Think of Time as Your Greatest Investment
Last week we talked about making a list of 3-4 things you value most in your life. Hopefully “your time” was at the top of the list. Time is your most valuable asset. How you use your time will determine the outcome of your life. If you invest your time wisely into your aspirations and goals, your life will leave a legacy of fulfillment. In contrast, if you don’t invest and spend it wisely, it will leave you with nothing more than a lifetime of regret and wishful thinking. What is the best way to use and evaluate your time? Begin to reflect and document how you spend it.
Begin to Use a Schedule
Research has shown that self-awareness is the first step to change. Time and how you use it can be your best ally or worst enemy. Do yourself a favor, begin to document your time to gain information about you. Get yourself a schedule and start using it. Make it a daily goal to write down what you did with your time. Spend 3- 5 minutes evaluating your daily schedule and make a list of both the negatives and positives on how you spent your time. Look at your list and begin to determine what stays in your schedule or leaves. Most importantly, does the information you gathered about your schedule reflect what you value most about your life. One of the most important questions you can ask is, “Does your time value you?”
Be Intentional About Your Time
Refection is key but equally important is what you do with the information you have learned. As you evaluate your daily time and schedule you can make better decisions about how you structure your schedule going forward. What you learn today can be reflected in your schedule tomorrow. Taking control and ownership of your time means you have to become more intentional about what goes into your schedule. Always remember what goes into your schedule is never free. It will cost you time. Will that expenditure of time be an investment that improves your life or takes away from it?
How you Spend Your Time Reflects on You
Now that you are paying more attention to your time, begin to dig deeper. Are there people in your life that drain your time or demand your life’s agenda has to change to fit theirs? Maybe you volunteer time or work at a job that does not produce the outcome you are looking for. You may find something that brings you joy, gratitude or fulfillment. It may lead you to finding a new passion in your life. Start looking at how you feel about your time and what emotions surface when you reflect on your schedule. How can you take the reflections of today and transform them into actions and choices that make tomorrow better?
Reflecting on your schedule will take time and a little discipline but it will be the best investment you will make. How much better would your life become when you own your time and use it in a way that speaks loudly as to how much value your life and those you love around you? Make our life count…value your time!
Share below ideas you have used to change your schedule and value your time more.
