Time – it doesn’t discriminate. As long as we are on this earth, we each are allotted the same amount of time in a day. How we spend it, is our choice. Sometimes life requires specific things such as going to work, a few hours of cooking and cleaning or other responsibilities that pull us here and there . Although, we often have appointments and events that require some of our time, most of us have a little extra time each day to do the things we want to do.
Each day we get 86400 seconds, 1440 minutes or 24 hours. It all depends on how you want to break it down. Most of our schedules look a little something like this.
Sleep – 8 hours
Work – 8 hours
Commute – 2 hours (includes getting ready and winding down at home)
Chores & Eating – 3 hours (includes cooking and cleaning)
Things we want to do – 3 hours
Ok – I think, the above schedule is padded a bit. I’m not sure about you, but I rarely sleep 8 hours in a night. I do, however, often work more than 8 hours on a weekday. My commute is about 5 minutes, but my husband is lucky to arrive at his job within an hour. It all depends on traffic. The chores and eating category just encompasses all those little things we need to do. That should be enough time, don’t you think? It seems more than generous for what life requires from sleep to chores. Now, this leaves us 3 hours to do those extra things. It may not seem like a lot, but what do we want to do? Watch tv, play a game, read a book, maybe a hobby or two. Excercise, study, travel, spend it with someone special? There are lists upon lists of things you can accomplish in minutes a day. Spending 20 minutes a day to get healthy, taking 5 minutes a day to update your budget will keep your finances on track, 15 minutes with the Lord will give you strength to carry on, 10 minutes reading or talking with your kids not only teaches them but keeps you closer, names a few things you can use that 3 hours to accomplish. Just google “minutes a day” and you will see page upon page of things you can do.
We all have different responsibilities at various stages of our lives. Be careful about comparing what you accomplish compared to those around you. Use the “go-getters” as an inspiration, ask them how they accomplish all that they do. I guarantee they will be more than happy to share a few of their tips and tricks with you. Do not let it discourage you when it takes a little while to get a routine in place to capitalize on that treasured time.
You can accomplish more than you think with a little planning and perseverance. Deadlines sometimes push us to perform in a way that we didn’t think possible! A national art contest prompted my daughter to complete what she didn’t think was possible. In just one day – Here Ducky Ducky was created.
Take it one second at a time, then one minute at a time, one hour and then a day. You will be amazed at what you accomplish in a week, a month, a year, a decade, in a lifetime when you plan! I can’t wait to hear your amazing stories!
Our Yellow Bridge 