Time Management

Okay, I have a confession to make.  I am addicted.  No it’s not what you think or, maybe it is.  I am addicted to activity.  This is my problem and it may be yours as well.  Constant activity, constant communication, constant research, so ,many  wonderful things to do and ways to invest, people to meet and things to do.    I can’t resist answering the phone,  I have to open every email, I have to go to every networking event,  I have to attend every party and climb every mountain.  It makes my life very exciting and never, never boring but it can really take a toll on you physically emotionally and psychologically.  It can even damage or destroy relationships. And relationships are above all the most important thing.  Thankfully I have tried to be aware of this pitfall and avoid it like the plague.

The explosion of social media has given us so much more access to so many people that we used to only see once every five or six years at funerals or weddings.  We can now see the vacation photos of people we barely know and know the inner most thoughts of people next door that we used to only wave at if we saw them at the mailbox.    It has blurred the lines between “real” friends and “business” friends.   These important parts of our lives used to be seperated and in their proper place.  The blending of the two streams make it seem that we never disconnect from business and connect with important family and friends and sometimes even with God. 

I don’t remember where I heard this but someone I have read or listenend to talked about sitting in the driveway at the end of his work day and changing gears.  Shifting out of work mode and into family mode.  This sort of seems like a thing of the past with all the weekend emails and facebook comments that we absolutely must respond to,  but I really think the shifting thing  needs some further review.   

 The only way I can have more time for building relationships is to stop doing something.   Unless someone has come up with a way to add more hours to the day.  I need to reevaluate my time and eliminate time wasters.  I am glad that I purposed early on to spend one full day each week focused on Jake and Sam.  If you don’t make it happen it won’t happen. 

I really love to work.  I don’t think about retiring at all and I think making money is really fun,  but I also love spending time with family and friends.  It’s important that we know who we are.  What do we want out of life?   What are our values?  What is most important to us?   What direction do we want our life to take?  To me it’s all about freedom.  Time freedom and financial freedom to do what you what to do when you want to do it.

Christmas is less than a week away and I can’t wait.  Yummy food, laughing and excitement.  I used to stress about everything being perfect for the big day but now we just flow into it.  It’s a whole lot more fun that way.  But then we move into another one of my favorite holidays….New Years.  The time for reevalauateting, setting goals and starting fresh.  I can’t wait!!