Look Around

Have you really looked at what is going on around you? My guess is that most people keep themselves so busy with their own stuff they really don’t bother. Life is just too busy. Many of you probably got a list like this:

Work
Meals
Household Chores
That one special TV program
Child 1 activity
Child 2 activity
Family Activity
Religious Study group
Church
Shopping
That other one special TV program
Extended Family Activity
That Project for Work
Spouse
Sleep

The problem is that life seems to have far more control of you then you have of it. You probably repeat on at least a weekly basis, “I just don’t have time for even one more thing.” It probably follows after somebody asked you to do something. It just rolls out automatically. Have you watched they glint in the eye of your child turn cold by the time you get to the third word of the phrase they now mouth with you?

It is all in the planning. Failing to plan is planning to fail. The extremist will buy a planner and try to get it all hammered out before the sun goes down. I would suggest some moderation; find out what you’re doing with all your time by keeping some type of daily time journal or event record. Say every 30 minutes for the next week. At the end of the week analyze the chart.

Take out your blue, green and pink highlighters, which have been sitting in the drawer forever waiting for a chance, and do the following. Color pink the must do’s, work, Sleep. The stuff that affects you directly and personally that no one else can do for you. Take the green one and mark all the things that you are doing for somebody else, the kids, family, and friends. Next take the blue one and mark all the things you are doing to add joy or purpose to life, church, entertainment. Has the week been fully colored in or are there some other items. Things that you don’t need to do yourself or just time that got away. Tally those hours.

I dare you to do it again for another week.

The second week probably went a lot better. You may even feel you have take control of it a little. Did you find more time?

Life is pretty tough and since I helped you find a few extra minutes let me help you plan some upcoming events. What are you going to do about the tax breaks ending soon and you needing to come up with about 15% more money at the end of each month? You got another year or so on some. The roads around your neighborhood are starting to look pretty bad and the local planners are talking tax increase. Will you be ready? Welfare just isn’t enough anymore for the millions who won’t work and you wouldn’t want them to go hungry or have bad health right?

How long can you afford to put off doing something about our nation’s political crisis?

I have made suggestions. I’m ready to hear yours.