Making Time

Time. It's precious. We all know that and yet many of us manage to find a way to waste it. We manage to find things to do that cost us time but give little gain. And we don't have to travel far from home to find those timewasting opportunities. Indeed, many of them are in our own homes. The TV, the Xbox, the internet. You see, the attractions of modern life make it so easy for us to waste our time, to fill large chunks of our leisure time with nothing in particular but in a way that makes it seem like we're having fun.

Now, I'm no time management angel. I have all the same time management issues as the next man, but the fact is that I know that how I spend my time is a choice. I can choose to relax and spend my time scratching my backside whilst watching old John Wayne films, or I can choose to do smoothing that might be more likely to improve my life, or to improve the live of others.

Maybe that would include spending time on self development or learning a new skill. When I propose to people who attend Poppyfish workshops that this choice exists, many look blank. Often they argue that choice or not, they do not have enough free time in the week to put into doing something different. These excuses deny us the opportunity to learn something new for ourselves.

Because I would argue that there is time, if you make it. Look at the graph. Even if I am working a 40 hour week and have family ties there is still time in the week to make a difference - maybe as much as 30 hours even with all the other stuff that has to be done. And that's a good chunk of serious minutes. It might not be as much as you would like, but its up to you what you make of it. We make time for the things and the people that we enjoy.

So please, make time count, make it work, and make a difference.

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