Slow Down – Create Time For Important Things!

Create Time for the Important Things in Your Life That Really Matter!

Of course, strictly speaking, you can’t actually create time.

We all have 24 hours a day. It’s up to us how well we use it.

If your life is hectic, and you rush from one task to the next, you’re probably finding that you don’t have a good quality of life, nor do you have time for the important things.

So, how can you slow down?

For most of us, it’s impossible to just stop doing things.

I find that it’s useful to question everything, and then to combine.

Here’s what I mean by that.

Step 1:- Question Everything

Ask yourself what the real benefit of a task is.  What does it contribute? Are the benefits worth the time you spend on it? Is it truly necessary?

There are NO right or wrong answers here.  They are YOUR choices.

Example – Where you work and live:- It’s your choice if your work involves a long commute each day (or a lot of travelling), whether working closer to home might be better for you (more time, less money spent on fuel and maintenance) and better for the environment (less fuel needed, less pollution, reduced carbon emissions).

It may be that a far-away job is the only work you can find, or that it’s more enjoyable than a closer job – it’s up to you.  But ask.  Be sure.

Example – Childrens’ Activities:- It’s up to you to decide for example, if all your children’s extra-mural activities are truly necessary and beneficial, as well as enjoyable.

• Would cutting back on one or more activities result in greater enjoyment of the remainder?
• Would your child have more time to spend with you or friends if they had fewer activities, and would they prefer that?
• Would they have a better, more memorable childhood if they had more time to play and relax?

Example – Your Bills:-  This is an important question. Not many people answer it.

Ask yourself who you are working for, really.  To pay the bills, certainly. But just what sort of bills?

• If you’re investing in paying for your home, and saving for retirement, great. But if you’re constantly paying off big spending bills, then are you working for yourself – or for the companies you’re buying from?
• Do a quick bit of math – how many days each month do you have to work to pay off your credit card debt?  How much do you pay on your credit card each month?  Divide that by the amount of money you take home from your work each day. The answer is how many days per month you spend working just to pay that one bill, before you eat.

(Example: say you take home $4,000 per month, that’s about $133 per day.  If your credit card debt is around $650 each month, then you are working 1 whole week out of each and every month,  just to pay off your credit card.  Before you eat or do anything else).

• Is all that spending worth it?
• Plus, you’ve now got more “stuff”, and that increases stress.
• There’s also more to keep clean
• There’s more to insure.
• How often do you really use all that stuff?
• Watch The Story of Stuff 
• Next time you’re tempted to buy something, don’t. Instead, leave it for a few days, and ask yourself if you really need it.

Example – Cleaning:- Would your home be better with less or more cleaning? Is it mostly you who does it, or can you enlist help from others such as family members or perhaps paid help.

Example – Food:- If you’re spending time preparing food each day, ask if there’s a way you can do some preparation or cooking ahead of time, for example at weekends. Then you could use the cooked food in dishes during the week – for example, roasting a chicken or turkey at the weekend gives you lots of meals and snacks during the week – a curry, a hotpot, sandwiches, salads etc that are quick and easy to make. It just takes a small amount of planning to create time.

Step 2 :- Combine

After questioning everything, and hopefully eliminating some tasks, it’s now time to get really clever!  Try to do necessary tasks in a way which allows you to do things that are important, at the same time.

Here are some examples:-

• Cooking Need to cook a big meal? Get the family involved and make it an occasion.  Turn up the music and make it fun, or use the opportunity to chat and catch up while you all work. You’re combining family time with cooking that you needed to do anyway, plus you’ve got ready’made leftover meals for during the week, and you’re feeding everyone, and you’re having fun!
• Exercise Instead of going to the gym to exercise on your own, go for a walk with people you care about – chat and laugh, and the time will fly by.  Or (better still) exercise with a conscience – meet up with friends and pick up litter in your area, or volunteer. Friendship and exercise combined.
• Gardening Get the family involved in gardening (if you have one) and make it a sociable, fun task at weekends – you’re combining quality time with exercise and appreciating nature and watching things grow which is hugely beneficial.

Depending on your own circumstances, you’ll be able to make your own ways of combining things to make them fun and enjoyable. When you do that, you create time!

Creating Time

By reducing the tasks you’re doing, and combining the things you need to do with the things to want to do, you get more enjoyment from them, and in a way, you’re creating time – or at least carving out more time for yourself and what’s important to you.

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You might also enjoy: Zen Habits to Improve your Quality of Life and also How to Manage Stress with Green Living