As the saying goes, time is money. We wouldn’t want to purposely waste time we would have used to do something worthwhile doing nothing, or doing something unimportant. Here are 5 things we could do to ensure we make good use of our time:
Be Organised
If you are disorganized, you will end up wasting time on unimportant things. There are things you have to prioritize. Prepare a to-do list of things that are important or urgent or both, keeping in mind what is important. For example, if you have children, taking them to school is both important and urgent. Taking them to the park to play might not be urgent. Set aside or eliminate nonessential tasks, which do little more than consume time and energy.
If you find that you have time on your hands because you have caught up on your work, why not move on to a job that is scheduled for later? By thinking ahead, you increase your productivity. Simplify your life. Learn to say no to things that are unimportant or that do little more than consume time. Too many activities and appointments can add needless stress and can rob you of joy.
Avoid Procrastination
Procrastination is the act of unnecessarily postponing decisions or actions. It is a thief of both time and productivity. A farmer who waits until conditions are perfect may never sow seed or reap his harvest. Similarly, we could allow life’s uncertainties to make us indecisive. Or we may feel that we have to wait until we have every scrap of relevant information before making a decision. To be sure, important decisions warrant research and deliberation. But the reality is that many decisions involve some uncertainties.
Avoid Perfectionism
There is often confusion as to what perfectionism actually refers to. Many people think they are perfectionists because they want to produce high-quality work or put in extra effort to get a good result. They see it as a positive thing. But real perfectionism is far more obsessive than this. Perfectionism often becomes an issue when the focus of a person’s quest for perfection is focused on other people and what they think. Instead of worrying about the quality of the action, effort or outcome, what they really care about is the perception by others, either wanting positive evaluations but also especially avoiding negative judgement.
However, where perfectionism often becomes an issue when the focus of a person’s quest for perfection is focused on other people and what they think. Instead of worrying about the quality of the action, effort or outcome, what they really care about is the perception by others, either wanting positive evaluations but also especially avoiding negative judgement. A perfectionist, however, would likely shudder at the thought of saying something incorrectly—an attitude that would impede his progress.
Be Balanced and Realistic
Create a balance between work and recreation. Try to rest. Do not think you have to be productive all the time. Do not be a workaholic, and deprive yourself of the fruit of your labour. Try to get enough sleep. Most adults need about eight hours of sleep a night to gain full physical, emotional, and cognitive benefits. Concerning the latter, sleep is a sound investment of time because it aids in concentration and consolidates memories, thus fostering learning. Sleep deprivation, however, impedes learning and contributes to accidents, errors, and irritability. On the other hand, do not be lazy, and do not spend all the time in the world sleeping.
Do not chase after fantasies and desires. Better to enjoy what the eyes see than to wander after one’s desires. A wise person does not let mere desires take the reins of his life, especially desires that may be unrealistic or impossible to satisfy. Hence, he is not seduced by clever advertising or easy credit. Instead, he learns to be content with what he can actually attain
Be Guided by Good Values
Your values enable you to gauge what is good, important, and worthwhile. If your life were an arrow, your values would aim at that arrow. Good values, therefore, help you to set sound priorities in life and to make the very best use of your time hour by hour and day by day.
Summary
In order to be wise in the use of time, we need to cultivate certain important qualities; we need to be organised, and realistic, avoid aiming for perfection, and be guided by good values. When we cultivate these qualities, naturally we begin to invest time properly.
