I just read this quote by Seneca, and it made me pause for a moment.
Because yes, that’s what we do, we do waste so much time….
We waste time worrying.
We waste time arguing.
We waste time looking for our stuff.
We waste time feeling irritated, annoyed.
We waste time scrolling through useless garbage.
We waste time fretting over non-issues.
We waste time doing unnecessary stuff.
The list is endless.
My invitation to you all this week is:
Observe your day/night schedule, and monitor what you spend your time on.
Everyone is complaining about being too busy and not having enough time, but let’s observe, factualize, and fix this wasting-of-time.
If you make a, very honest, chart of what you are doing during your day, you’ll be flabbergasted by how much waste there is, and by how much time you can gain, and fill with positivity, with rest, with hobbies, sports, with sleep, … anything you feel you have not enough time for.
Let’s have a look at the things we waste time on, and at how we can do differently.
Worrying:
We all know how we can worry, worry, worry. We exhaust ourselves with thoughts of doom, while not fixing anything in doing so. My question then is:
Can I do anything about this issue right now?
Yes? Ok. Do what you can right now and then put it to rest.
No? Ok, that very clear. Then stop fretting about it, as it will only make you feel more anxious, more tired, which in turn will make the problem seem even bigger.
Arguing:
Whenever we disagree with something or someone, do we really have to get into it? Can’t we just agree to disagree and let the matter rest?
My question here is:
Is it worth arguing about?
Is it about a life-threatening situation or about a very substantial issue? Okay, go for it.
Is it about something trivial, or is it just 2 different opinions on a matter? Well, just acknowledge each other feeling different about it, and move on.
Looking for our stuff:
If you have been following me for some time, you’ll have noticed my articles here on Medium, and maybe also my book*, about minimalism and about simplifying your life. We ALL have WAY too much stuff!!! Yes, everyone. Me included, although I am very aware of not buying or hoarding stuff I do not need, me too, I could get rid of even more of my stuff.
We wear 20% of our wardrobe 80% of the time.
We have a tenfold of the kitchen tools of what we actually use.
We buy something we need and keep the old one, just in case….
I can go on for hours 🙂
But, if we already start by: giving a designated place for all we use, and put it back in that very spot every time we used it, we would already gain …. years …of wasting time looking for our stuff…… yep, incredible, isn’t it? But studies have found that we actually do spend so much time looking for stuff during our lives.
Feeling annoyed, irritated:
We all feel irritation, we all feel annoyed from time to time. We are human, we feel emotions. BUT, don’t dwell on them, don’t keep the feeling alive, don’t feed it. It’s an e-motion, it’s energy-in-motion. Let it move on. Don’t become the emotion. Feel it and let it go.
My question in situations of negative feelings:
How does, me feeling like this, help me?
Indeed, not at all, on the contrary even. The longer you feel the negativity, the more it settles in your cells, the more you become this negative feeling, the harder it becomes to let it go.
Do what you can to change the situation, and let go of what is out of your hands. Knowing what is up to you and what is not, is essential to feeling content, happy, and relaxed.
Scrolling through useless garbage:
I know we all do it, and we all like it. But it also makes us get upset from time to time, and what is really problematic, is, that we never realize how much time we’ve wasted, looking at those screens. Everyone says: I have no time to read books, I have no time for hobbies, I have no time to practice, I have no time to learn a new language, …. But put your phone away, do not watch television every evening, get up early (which implies that you go to bed on time**), and you’ll notice how much time you ‘found’. My question here is:
How badly do you want something?
You really want more time? Adapt your behavior, and you’ll create time.
You just complain about having no time but do not want to change anything? Then stop complaining, and enjoy your life as it is.
Fretting over non-issues:
Observe what you’re fretting about. Question:
Is this worth fretting over?
No?
Stop fretting.
Yes?
Can you actually change anything about the issue?
No? Then again, stop fretting.
Yes? Do what you have to do to change the situation.
Doing unnecessary stuff:
Think about what you want to do with your time. Not all is urgent, not all is necessary.
You can always do more, but to what use? Your worth does not depend on how much you do, it’s about who you are.
Not sure whether something is necessary?
Look at the bigger picture.
How much is still ‘necessary’ right now if you look at what you value in life, if you look at the big timeframe of your life?
The more you know what you value, the more you know what you really want in life, the easier it will become to see the difference between what is necessary and what is not.
Of course, the list of time wasters is much longer, and it differs from person to person.
That is why I want to invite you to become aware of how you spend your days.
Put in on paper, make it visible, use colors, pictures, …
Write down what you want to do more of, and write down what you want to do less of.
Adapt your week calendar accordingly.
Slowly move towards a more fulfilling life.
Start with small, doable things and let it grow.
The more you practice this, the easier it will become.
We all have 24 hours/day and it’s up to us how we fill those in.
Good luck and enjoy your newly found time!
Thank you all for reading me, and for supporting me on Medium. If you want unlimited access to all of my articles, and of many other authors, you can become a Medium Member. You’ll be supporting me and all the other authors. Many, many thanks to you all!!!
Katrien
*” Less is Yes!” by Katrien Degraeve.
**” Night Time: Sweet Dreams or Waking Hours? “, and “Happy Mornings, Happy Days. Happy Days, Happy Life” By Katrien Degraeve.