Time is our most important gift. And I think we should use it in the smartest way possible.
Nor do I think we should be busy every minute that we are awake. We need rest, relaxation, periods of doing nothing every day. Call them meditation times, family times, reading or hobbies, or whatever gives you rest, a refreshment of body and mind.
You may be so busy that you don’t have time for those things. Or so you think. So you need to take some time, because they are rewarding. And one way to save time is by getting rid of the time thieves.
We all have them, but when we are busy we overlook them.
Time stealers are times and activities that are generally unrewarded. Some we can get rid of and others maybe not.
For instance:
Your computer hangs up and you feel frustrated until you unhook it. That is wasted time. Maybe you need a newer computer or newer software that works all the time. Explicit paper manuals are no longer included with software or hardware. Go to their website and tell that company that you don’t like the performance. Whatever the problem, it is a time thief.
He has caught a bad cold and is now sitting in a doctor’s office waiting for the doctor to see him. Ask yourself, did you arrive too early? Was your appointment at a busy time of day or on a busy weekday? A doctor I’ve seen has a sign in the waiting room that says if you’ve waited thirty minutes, see the receptionist, and maybe it’s necessary, see the receptionist. At least you will tell the staff, including the doctor, that they are expected to be on time, barring any emergencies they may have.
Department stores are terrible for waiting in line at the cash register to pay and seeing empty cash registers. Aggravate at least. Stay away from the cashiers, but you can tell them to tell the manager that you need to take better care of your customers. And you can find one that has fewer or no customers and move on to it.
Stores that should have an item you are looking for, but cannot find it. The store may have moved it to another location and you’re wasting time looking for it. Don’t waste that time. Ask an employee to show you where it is. Some larger stores have a hall, so when you walk through the door, ask the hall to tell you where the item is located or look it up for you.
Learn about rush hours at your favorite gas station, and then get gas at other times. Not only are you wasting your time waiting, you are also burning gas, wasting it.
Television is a great wasteland, a time thief. It’s easy to sit there and do nothing, and it can create a habit. Check the schedules and only turn on the television when you have something worth watching and even learning from. Instead, read an informational book.
I don’t like TV dinners, but food can be made ahead of time at home. Pick certain days to prepare those foods, then on other days, preparing a meal takes little time. Time saved.
Do you have a squeaky door? List those annoyances and fix those items on certain days. Don’t let them come in every day.
Social dates can easily become too many, and many of them are actually a waste of time. Go through them and remove the ones that are redundant or mostly useless.
Membership in community clubs can also become a burden for too many and too many meetings. And leave the ones that are lunches. Lunch should be your time, and it should be a time that allows you to savor your food and allow you to begin digesting without tension. Remember that even humor can be tense. In a review, you may want to leave a club or two.
Another article. Value your time. Realistically, this cannot be done as time cannot be bought. Lawyers do it, why not you? Put a value of, say, $ 500 an hour on your time, just as a lawyer would on yours, then check out the time thieves in your life. You will soon see those things, those stocks, that are not up to their time value.
You’ll get more done during the week, or day, when you get rid of time thieves.
At the very least, make time each day for your family and to relax, even meditate.
