All in all we are beings who at a basic level desire reward. For some that reward may be watching tv, playing games, doing things on the computer, and so on. And it’s okay to reward yourself with those things. However, if you are constantly giving yourself those things as a reward, you’re keeping yourself from one of the biggest rewards you can give yourself; a product of your time. Whether it’s finishing an assignment for school or work, finishing a painting, or completing some other personal project or goal you’ve set yourself, if you keep giving yourself short-term rewards, you won’t get any long-term satisfaction.
You could possibly think of it like a diet. If you want to be more healthy, or you want to lose weight, you have to give up the short term satisfaction of something like cookies or soda, in order to get the long term satisfaction of feeling better, and feeling more comfortable in your body. If you continually alter your plan to fit your present desires, you’ll never get to the point you want to be at in the time you want to be there in. Or in this analogy, if you kept telling yourself you’ll start your diet tomorrow, or next week, then you will only keep postponing your future satisfaction.
The problem is that often we don’t allow ourselves to sacrifice things that stand in the way of a future satisfaction. We get impatient, and want to feel rewarded now. Sometimes we just don’t want to wait to see things change, or want to commit week, months, or even years of our lives to something. We slip into self-doubt, or rationalize that it’s a lost cause anyways. We say we don’t have time to do the things we truly want to do. But there is always time for the things you want to do and accomplish. It’s just a matter not wasting your own time, and instead utilizing the time you have wisely to strive for those goals.
I hope through my writing it has not come off as I’m suggesting in any way that binge watching shows, playing games, or otherwise “goofing off” or “being lazy” is inherently bad and should be avoided at all costs. I’m not saying that every waking minute of your day has to be spent doing something productive. You’re allowed to be lazy, you’re allowed to “waste time”. You are allowed to take as much time as you need to do the things you want to do in life. It’s okay to rest yourself, whether it’s your mind or your body. It’s okay to decompress yourself after work, or school, or after being busy all day. The problem arises when your continually put things off or don’t commit to things because you think you have all the time in the world to do it.
When you tell yourself that you can do it later, or you don’t have time for something now, you’re robbing yourself of time in the future to use on things you’d rather being doing. Remember when you procrastinate on a project or an assignment, that you’re only hurting yourself in the end. Instead of not having to worry about something, or internally scold yourself for not doing it sooner, you could have your projects done; you could have time to relax or do something you WANT to do; or, if for example, you have a small business, you could be more progressed and moving on to more growth and expansion! The possibilities are endless when you allocate your time better.
You’ve probably heard some variation of the saying, “Don’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today.” It’s a sentiment I believe we should all try to achieve, as best we can. I don’t expect any of us would follow this 100% of the time. There will always be days where you’re tired, busy, or just do not want to do anything productive. But if you’re a habitual procrastinator (like myself) or you are putting off certain things in your life (school, career, travel, etc.), then I say it’s high time to commit to improving ourselves, and our time management!
Now, learning how to properly manage your time can be difficult and even frustrating. Things almost never go as planned and sometimes our estimates of how long it will take to do something are way off, throwing our plans out of whack. It’s important to remember that this is okay. In general, it doesn’t matter how long it takes you to do something or accomplish a goal, as long you don’t give up. It’s okay to go over the bumps in the road, to backtrack or go in circles, to climb the mountains that get in your way, or to go the long way around to avoid certain difficulties. It’s okay to rest, or take time to reconsider or restructure your plans as needed.
Just remember that it doesn’t matter how long the journey is, just don’t stop taking the steps to get there. And if you’re not already on that journey, then it’s time to start taking that first step, even if it’s a baby step. Every step in the direction you want or need to go is important.
Don’t let yourself waste your own time, but don’t let anyone else waste it for you either. If, upon reflection, you find that there are people who are actively hindering you in someway, whether intentionally or unintentionally, do what you must do to avoid your time being lost.
This could include a friend who always wants to hangout, which keeps you from finishing your school work on time. It could also include someone who is playing games with you in some way and is robbing you of your time, whether it’s spending your time with them when they’re not actually there with you. And it could include someone you are no longer involved with, but who takes up your time because you are thinking about them, thinking where something went wrong, or what could have been changed or done differently.
Lastly, you should be mindful of the value of your time; what your time is WORTH to you. This can relate to how much you feel your job is worth in terms of wages and benefits, how much you feel the time you put into things like your art or music is worth, or how much time you feel like spending on various things. If you are a writer, an artist, a musician, a handy person, a techy person, a creator of any kind, or someone who has a skill valuable skill or trade, don’t undersell yourself. Your time is valuable, and you have every right to ask for fair compensation for your time.
So when someone asks you for a commission, asks you to help fix or build something, or asks you to otherwise create or do something for them, request what you think your time for that is worth! Don’t ever let someone take advantage of your time. If you are asking for a fair and reasonable amount for the time, effort, and any other materials you put into it, then don’t let someone try and haggle you. Or worse, don’t let anyone try and tell you that you should do it for them for free. You don’t go to your job for free.
Only you can determine what your time is worth. If you want to give something for free, it should be reserved to those who deserve that sacrifice of your time, such as friends, family, or someone who’s done something or made something for you without request for compensation. Make sure you value your time wisely and appropriately. Remember, you won’t get it back once you’ve spent it.
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