Have you noticed that everywhere you look, people are in a hurry? You see them weaving in and out of traffic, rushing through the grocery store, and waiting impatiently in the Starbucks line. Why is everyone in such a rush? Do they overschedule? Do they have poor time management skills? The busy bee bug seems to affect everyone. Whether you are a soccer mom or a career mom you are rushing here or running there. I witness on a daily basis people driving preoccupied by their cell phones, they are either: talking, texting, checking emails, or updating their FaceBook status. It is on rare occasions that I see a driver enjoying the experience of driving. Why is that? Why do we allow ourselves to become so busy that we end up telling our children “in a minute” more times than “yes honey, what do you need?”
When I think back to when my kids were first born I cannot tell you how often I was told, “enjoy the moment because they grow up so quickly.” Or “time flies once they start school so savor them while they are young.” However, the same individuals giving me this piece of wisdom seemed to forget to practice what they preached. I started to notice themes amongst those that warned me about the passing of time.
1. They over booked their calendar.
2. They always needed to be doing something. Moving forward, running here or there. They grumbled about their schedule but did nothing to change it.
3. They have too much stuff.
4. They over spend.
5. They can’t just be. They feel the need to do. And do and do.
My husband and I were talking a while back as I was reflecting on the past five years with our daughter and three years with our son. I expressed my concern about time going so fast and his response was so obvious. He said in order for us to slow down time we need to simplify, reorganize our life, our home, and our schedule. We need to spend less to have more. I looked at him and automatically said, “let’s do it!”
I knew I had to finish my thesis but after that, my new mission would be to simplify. I started going room by room getting rid of everything we didn’t use or need. I cleaned out trucks full of stuff and our home became very simple, clean, and organized. I once read somewhere that people spend one hour a day looking for things. That is absurd! Next, my husband and I reworked our schedules so that he works mainly Monday-Wednesday and I work Monday and Wednesday. We have Thursday-Sunday to be with the kids and do our online work just in the mornings. We cut down on cable and other non-necessities. Lastly, we set out a goal to have a down payment on some land in two years to build a small energy efficient cottage in the country. Today we play more, laugh more, and enjoy the moment.
Do I believe my husband is a genius? Of course! But more importantly, I think his answer was so obvious that it misses so many. People fall into the trap of beating the Jones or climbing the ladder that they feel they have no choice but to keep up the status quo. The truth is we always have choices. This is our one and only shot at life and the fact is that it does go quickly no matter how much you down size and simplify; nevertheless, you have the choice to stay in the rat race or step off the fast track and enjoy your time. Your time is now. Stop rushing and start reassessing your priorities. Do you really need to have a $75,000 car? Do you really need to have a five bedroom, four bath, three level home? Just think if you down sized your home; you would pay less in property taxes, utilities, and it would take less time to maintain. Just right there you have so much to gain by losing.
I hope you find my husband’s answer as glaringly obvious as I did. I hope you consult with your partner and family to figure out where you can restructure things in order to gain more time. Maybe you could be the nice person that holds the door for the elderly woman instead of blowing by her to get your shopping list tackled. Maybe instead of racing to this or that you could take your kids for a walk and discover something interesting along the way. Make memories in the smallest of moments.
We can’t slow down time but we can slow down our life. It is within out power to live our best life now, we just have to have the courage to go against the flow and find a more efficient way of living. We are happier when we live closely to our values. If you value family time yet are clocking in 60+ hours a week at work, chances are you’re not too happy. So change it. What are you waiting for? No one can run your life better than you can. You have the power to design the perfect existence. Don’t wait until tomorrow. The longer you wait to get the life you want the greater the regret for not doing it sooner. I know one thing I want to look back at my life each monumental birthday and not have regrets for the past decade, I want to blow out my candles and be excited to see what the next ten years will bring and savor the memories I created with the precious time I had.
The choice is yours. What are you going to do with your day?