Only 24 hours in the day!

Time… no matter whom you are what you do or how you try there are only 24 hours in a day. The only one who can spend those 24 hours is you. But how do you choose to spend those hours? Do you use them in a healthy way or do they just disappear leaving you to wonder where the day went? Do you feel accomplished at the end of your 24 hours or do you see a to-do list that has nothing crossed off? Are you always surprised at how long it has been when you run into an old friend? Do you wish you had spent your day differently?

Now I have to admit that I have become a great time waster. Lots of days at the end of my 24 hours I look around and I realize that once again I have accomplished little if nothing. What amazes me is that I am a great planner. I plan everything and I am very intolerant of those that don’t plan. You know the people I am talking about. Those that know something important is coming up and then don’t tell you until two days before, then wonder why you can’t come.

What amazes me is how complacent I have become about planning time for the things that need to be done every day. It’s those defeatist jobs that are everywhere. You know the ones I’m talking about, the jobs that are never really finished. The jobs that are like a revolving door because no sooner do you finish them than it is time to do them again. Cleaning, yard work, dishes, laundry, they are just never done. There are just moments in time when it looks as though they are done. Now I do manage to get my laundry done if you don’t count getting it put away. I do manage to cook for myself if you don’t count getting the dishes washed. I do get my lawn mowed if you don’t count the edging and weed-eating. I’m sure you are seeing the pattern here. I never quite seem to complete all of any task when it comes to every day household chores. I run out of energy and enthusiasm before they are done.

Then there is the time needed to spend with friends and family. How do you fit that in among all the everyday items to be done? After all there are only 24 hours in the day! Now I know no one would miss a special person’s birthday that is an obvious choice but what about all the days of the year. Aren’t they just as important? Why should there be only one day a year when you carve out time for a special someone in your life? Are you missing something that might really hold more value than some household chore?

In our daily lives we are always sacrificing one thing for another because we all only have 24 hours to get everything done. How do you choose what gets left to be done on another day? Do you ever have doubts that you made the correct choice? Did you choose the healthy option or the easy one? Sometimes the healthiest choice is not the most obvious.  It is always easier to justify time spent doing household chores while leaving family and friends with any time that might be leftover. While I would love to have all my chores completed I have learned that they will wait for me. I know that on my death bed I will not be thinking about the dust, unfolded laundry or the dishes in the sink I will be thinking of lost time with family and friends. So move over chores and defeatist jobs. This year spending more time with family and friends will be one of my positively healthy choices every day! Will you join me?