The Big Time Drain

It never ends-the constant demand on your time, which I call the "Time Drain". Before you realize what's happening, you have lost half of your daily allotment of time down this insidious vortex. Join the revolt! Put a plug in your time drain and take back control.

We all know that work expands to fill all available time; therefore it's not a shortage of time but a problem of priorities! Our lives are over-run with urgent demands that call for immediate responses, causing truly important matters to be put off. Everyone must deal with "fires" on a daily basis, so how do we keep from falling into the trap of only handling the urgent demands?

One way is to spend 10-15 minutes each morning meditating or thinking about the important tasks that must be accomplished that day. You may need to get in the habit of doing this again half-way through your day as a reinforcement because where our thoughts go - our lives go. We manifest whatever we think, so spend more time and energy thinking about what is important, so you won't loose focus. By doing so, you will spend more time being proactive instead of reactive.

You will be better equipped to take back control of your time and resist the pressure from the demands that only appear urgent. When something that appears to be an urgent fire rears its ugly head, take a deep breath and then compare it against your list of important things. You may determine that it can, in fact, be dealt with at another time.

In addition, be mindful of your self-talk. Comments such as; "I don't have time," is an affirmation of time poverty. Remember, where your thoughts go, your life goes. Instead you should say, "I choose to spend my time in another way right now."

The way you spend your time is your choice. No one is twisting your arm behind your back forcing you to join yet one more committee. You allow yourself to be pressured into activities that keep you from the important things in your life such as family and self-care. Take responsibility and slow down. Take time to meditate and make a priority list of the important things and people in your life. Plug those things (and people) into your schedule first, and then fill in the available time with the rest. If you start treating the important activities as sacred time, the urgent activities wouldn't be so inclined to run amok. Then remember to have a little bit of fun every day!