How important is your time to you? What value do you place on your time? Outside of sleeping, eating, working, household chores and other activities to sustain your life, what do you do with your time? How do you spend your "non-working" moments each day?
It is easy to lose sight of where your time goes. An hour here and an hour there may seem harmless enough. However, all of those hours add up to make a significant portion of your life. For instance, the average American spends more than four hours a day watching TV. Multiply that by fifty years and you have eight years spent staring at a box!
Think about it: There are 525,600 minutes in every year. How do you want to spend them? Assuming one- third of those minutes are spent sleeping, you still have 346,896 minutes left to spend however you choose. Do you want to just let the days happen to you or do you want to plan?
There is a major difference between being busy and taking specific, well-planned action. You can have a busy day with nothing to show for it - without moving closer to your most important goals. They key is to map out your day; prioritize the important tasks on your agenda so that you have time for learning and expanding your knowledge.
To start with, set aside at least 20-30 minutes a day to develop the habit of reading. Read anything that is stimulating, challenging or gives you an edge in your industry or profession. The experts all agree that if you really want to be successful, you should invest one hour of your day to learn more about your area of interest. Developing this single habit can totally change the direction of your life!
Did you know that if you invest one hour each day in learning a new subject, you will accumulate nine 40- hour weeks over the course of a year? Imagine for a minute, how good you would become at something if you did it all day, every day for just over two months? Just 60 minutes a day may be the defining edge you need to really get the results you want from life.
Jolene felt as if she were drowning in a sea of everyone else's needs. It seemed that she was not even noticed as a person who had needs and feelings of her own. She felt as if she had lost her identity. So she applied this principle of investing an hour a day into an area of personal interest.
She purchased a digital camera and began to take photographs of nature. She then digitally added inspirational verses and turned her pictures into calendars, daily planners, wall art, and greeting cards. She entered a photography exhibit and, much to her surprise, sold several pieces. She sold even more at the next show and that encouraged her to keep going.
"I feel good about myself now. I no longer feel as though I am just wandering through life, but have something valuable to contribute," she said. "I am happiest when I am taking pictures and turning them into products that will bless other people. My children are happier, my husband is happier, and bottom line - I am happier with who I am and what I am doing with my life!"
Jolene's accomplishments in her photography helped her build up her confidence to set out and accomplish other goals in her life as well.
"I have finally gotten to a point that although I am still a wife and mother, I am also my own individual. Now I am taking time out for myself and getting to know me again. My photography is what keeps me alive in the middle of all this turmoil. It's my oasis. It keeps me producing something that is positive. It gives me a sense of accomplishment while everything else is so uncertain. It's mine!"
Ideally we should spend our time on the activities that are the most important to us - activities that will enrich our lives and the lives of those around us. But sometimes you get off track and need to readjust your priorities. You need to make sure that you're investing your time where it matters most.
If you find that you have been spending too much time on activities that aren't improving the quality of your life, don't worry about it. Just decide that today will be your new beginning. A truly abundant life is not dependent upon luck or circumstance, but rather on how you spend your time. Spend it wisely.