One of the consistent pain points that I hear about in my daily interaction with people is that they don’t have enough time, especially quality time for themselves. Do you need to overcome being ‘busy’ and to learn to manage your time better? I came across a blog post by Praveen Rajarao from his website dailymorningcoffee.com. Rajarao asks the question, Why is today’s world SO BUSY? He offers an answer to this question, but first, he reflects back on his childhood stating, “Once my dad came back home from work, it seemed like he had all the time in the world to spend with us. He never said he was stressed at work, and he never said he had to work overtime.” So what has changed? Rajarao suggests that the main change has been technology.

By the end of 2017, it is projected that 2.32 billion people in the world will have a smartphone. This means that people have access to unlimited content and data in the palm of their hand 7/24. The challenge as I see it is that people are not equipped to manage the information and distraction that comes with the ever-evolving and unlimited possibilities that technology will continue to provide. This is a great example of too much of a good thing can be harmful.

So, what do we do about this? Rajarao offers five important changes that you can make that will help you balance your life in an optimal manner. Here they are:

• Identify and Eliminate Time-Wasting Activities
• Be Among Constructive People
• Stop Procrastinating By Setting Priorities
• Introduce a Little Change in Your Daily Routine
• Relax Your Mind – Enjoy A Workout

I concur with these suggestions and they are among the many disciplines and choices that I teach people about in the Lines In The Sand class that I have created.

In addition to what Rajarao recommends here are a few of my thoughts.

1. It is no secret that people are addicted to their smartphones. I don’t think this is a good thing. In addition to being a source of wasting time, it has created a society that relies on 3”x 5” piece of equipment for everything from their self-esteem to entertainment. We have lost the art of good communication because texting is the new way to “connect” with someone and yet as a society we feel more disconnected to one another than any other time in history. What do I have to say about all this? Put your phone down! Put it down when you are eating. Put it down when you are having dinner with others and ask them to do the same thing. Put it down when you are driving. Distracted driving kills thousands of people each and over 330,000 people suffer from injuries as a result of texting and driving. Death never adds balance to one’s life.
2. Pay attention to your thoughts. This is where your beliefs come from. A belief is simply a thought that you keep on thinking. If you are seeking more balance in your life think about what that would look like and feel like for you. Once you have determined this, focus your thoughts on your balanced life and get and stay in the state of feeling balanced often. What you focus on flourishes. Focus on what you want, not what you don’t want.
3. Let go of people, places and things that don’t serve you. Remove things from your life that don’t bring you joy. Are the relationships in your life a good use of your time? If so great, if not remove yourself from those situations. Unhealthy relationships eat up precious time and energy that you could be using to provide peace and enjoyment to your life.
4. No is a complete sentence. Period. If you are one of those people who has a hard time saying no out of guilt or obligation or to be accepted or liked; stop. Say yes to things that bring you fulfillment and inspire you. Nothing provides you with more quality time than your willingness to determine how you want to ideally spend your time and then doing just that.
5. Carve out quiet time for yourself each day. I suggest that you do this first thing in the morning each day even if you have to get up a little earlier. Use this time to sit quietly and read, meditate, and set the tone for your day. This time of silence allows you to get to know yourself. At the end of your quiet time get in the habit of writing down something each day that you are grateful for in your life. Practicing gratitude opens up doors of possibility for you to start creating a life that you love.

The bottom-line is that we all have a choice in how we are going to spend our time. It is up to each of us to make the choices that will enhance the quality of our lives and give us the quality time that we are so desperately seeking. Choose wisely.

You can read Praveen Rajarao’s entire blog post here: https://www.shoutmeloud.com/maintain-perfect-work-life-balance.html

Stay true and be you —

Annie