I’m at a business seminar in Virginia this week. The first day, our topic was “time management”.
We spent the entire day focused on how to make better use of our time. Pretty funny that it happened to be the day we turned our clocks back for daylight savings so we gained an extra hour!
They shared some interesting statistics. Did you know that the average American in his/her lifetime spends:
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- 3 years in meetings
- 8 months opening junk mail
- 17 months drinking coffee and sodas (one thing NOT on my list)
- 3 years being sick
- 5 years waiting in line
- 9 months sitting in traffic (has to be more in LA and Seattle!)
- 7 years in the bathroom
- 12 years watching TV
- 1 year looking for misplaced items
- 24 years sleeping
Out of that list, what can you change to save yourself some valuable time?
Good news – time is NOT scarce. We all have all the time there is. We all have exactly the same amount of time each day.
So, where are you wasting your time? What can you give up that will give you more time. (TV? Facebook? constantly checking emails?) Careful! When you’ve gained more time, determine how you will fill it or, next thing you know, it will be wasted!
Something else interesting; figure out how much you’re worth per hour and see how much wasted time per week really costs you. What can you pay someone else to do that will save you the time to do something more valuable in your life?
Remember, you do have control over time. How you spend your time is a choice.
Time isn’t going to stop. 12 months from now, another year will have passed whether you’re paying attention or not. What more can you accomplish in the next 12 months if you start making intentional decisions with your time? Set a goal, make a plan and see what better you can do in the next 12 months!
