We never seem to have the perfect portion of time.
Too much time at work. Too little time with friends. Not taking enough time to make the right decisions.
Life passes you by so quickly, and I feel like I don't have the right amount of time to really enjoy it. I especially notice it on the weekends, when I am finally free to visit with friends and spend time to see family. I never feel that there is enough. I try to cram too much into one day, and it becomes overwhelming, exhausting me more than making me feel accomplished.
As someone who gets paid and works a job that heavily involves time management, you would think that I would understand it much better. I can schedule, plan, etc... but the unexpected always happens. Sometimes I make bad decisions with time. One of my downfalls is that I am one who wants to instantaneously figure out a situation or resolve a problem. We are human, and sometimes people need to step back and think things through before acting. This is where I fail. I jump too quickly and expect that other people are the same way. I sometimes don't think through my plans thoroughly enough before acting upon them. I realized all of this the past week, when I too hastily jumped with an assumption and it really messed up a good thing. The tough part to swallow - I know it was all my fault because I didn't take the time to think through.
In the next week, I also have to start planning for my next half marathon. I started running outside a little more this week, and I forgot how much it helps. It relieves stress, makes you feel strong, and gives you the time to really clear your head. Even though your body may hurt or be yelling at you to stop during the whole thing, you keep pushing. It is a mental game with yourself, and one that I really enjoy. But training for a half marathon takes excellent time planning, especially when you are possibly running for 2 hours a day at some points. Luckily no four hour training sessions are in my future like when I was training for my full marathon in November. I need to make sure I plan well for the time I need to beat my goal of a 2 hour half marathon. It's doable, but will take greater efforts on my part.
So, to help me with time management a little more, I bought a paper planner. Putting what I need to do each day down in ink will really help me see what I need to do. I have calendars on my computer, my phone, etc... but the written form will always be my go to no matter how much we continue to rely on technology. As a goal for me, and a growth opportunity, I am also going to learn to take the time to think through situations and consequences of actions before I act upon them. It is something I have needed to do for a while, and I think now is the time.
So, grab your pen and planner, review the important things you need to do each week or month, and start working on finding more time and using it better during the day.
