Deciding What To Do With Your Time

Sometimes, it seems like we do not have enough time. There just seems to be too many tasks and activities to do. At other times, though, it may seem that we have too much time and the time may seem to take an eternity to pass by. How do we balance these two extremes and try to enjoy our lives to the fullest? Deciding what to do with your time is a critical first step in better managing your time so that you will feel more fulfilled in the use of your daily hours.

Think "balance." Try to balance your time so that you use it to make yourself as much of a balanced person as possible. Some people work too much and become workaholics, some people exercise too much and become obsessed with exercise, some people have too much fun and end up hurting themselves. The key is to try to become as balanced in as many ways as possible. Try to choose several major areas in your life that you would like to balance, such as mentally, physically, financially, and socially, and allocate some time to devote to that aspect of your life. You will likely become more balanced, healthier, and happier in the process if you can strive to be a more balanced person.

Simplify wherever possible. Try not to complicate your life too much. A lot of the time, what we perceive as something that we "must" do is simply an illusion. If you were to really think about it, you probably would not really have to perform that task. Alternatively, there might be an easier way to do it, you may be able to combine that task with something else, or you may simply not even need to do it, as already stated. When people get stressed or when they are not thinking clearly, they tend to make their lives more complicated for themselves than necessary. Try to make decisions about what you really need to do in your life when you are calm, and then take small steps to achieve those tasks.

Set priorities. As everyone has limits on their time, we must make the difficult decision of doing some tasks and leaving other tasks alone. It is unlikely that one person can do everything that he or she wants to do. You must make some sacrifices and set priorities about what you would like to do or to schedule to get done first. You may want to use your core values in your life to help you decide what are your priorities in your life. You may also want to deviate from your priorities once in a while just for diversity in your life, and to have some fun. As a general guideline, however, setting priorities will reduce your stress in having too many tasks to try to accomplish. Setting priorities should form a key cornerstone in time management strategizing and decision making.

Consider doing nothing. Do not forget a simple use of your time - you can simply do nothing. Often, when doing nothing we ironically get more done. Therefore, consider not doing anything at all when scheduling in one of your activities for the day.

Do not be pressurized by society. Try not to be pressurized to conform to society or to the values of people around you. Other people may give some wise suggestions on how you can make use of your time, and it would be a good idea for you to think about them and heed some of those suggestions. Howver, you should try to go deep inside yourself and dig out your own individual personality in order to plan out a map of how you would like to use your time. Different people have different values, so you should try to incorporate your values with some wise suggestions from others or from society, but try not to feel that you are being forced to do something. Think and decide about how you would like to use your time. May your use of the precious gift of time be a source of happiness and pride for you in the days, months, weeks, and years ahead!

In summary, to make better decisions about how to make fruitful use of your time:

  A.  Think "balance."

  B.   Simplify wherever possible.

  C.   Set priorities.

  D.  Consider doing nothing.

  E.   Do not be pressurized by society.

Life Skills > Common Sense Life Skills > Deciding What to Do with Your Time