There are many ways to waste time and lots of books on time management to gain it. I realize that either is subjective. For me, playing simple computer games like Free Cell or Solitaire is like pushing my gear shift to neutral. As I play, I can concentrate better on the phone, especially to those on the other end who talk more than listen. I relax because winning or losing is totally irrelevant to me, though otherwise competitive. I don't have to re-invent wheels. I learn the right way to do things within my skill set or hire a pro when I think the task is beyond me.
Learning how to do things may seem a time waste to some but pays off in time saved, being better informed. Putting away things like watch, keys, credit cards, etc in the same place keeps me from wasting time hunting. (Despite that rule, a Murphy's Law lives in my house that says: As soon as I find whatever I have been hunting for, it will immediately be replaced by something else that goes missing. That law expands to: As soon as I fix something, another will break or need repair.)
Since I am a first generation American, I am not weighted down with a notion that I have to be doing something productive for others to make my time worth while. I take preventive steps, like oiling a machine to keep it working. Relaxing and stretching periodically keeps my muscles even. As a child doing my household chores I worked for a while, played the piano for a while, and then went back to work. I learned to reward myself many years before I worked on a Behavioral Unit and found my style was recommended to maintain mental and physical health. Having goals and rewards is very important to keep me on task.
For many, work and hobbies get off-balance. When work piles up, time stolen for hobbies puts on pressure...and even guilt. Imbalance sets up a chain reaction of negatives. It makes some people around you annoyed, bosses angry, loved ones feeling left out. Finding the right balance to your life requires great discipline. A good thing about senior status is that often there is not a boss (unless a spouse is considered one, which brings up yet another topic for another day) and things get done more slowly (yet another impediment). Additionally, the naive concept that working entitles one to a senior life of being able to do as one pleases, disappoints a lot of people when senior reality hits. Modern medicine has allowed lots of people to miss the bullet when in the past they would have died. That gained time, by not being employed, is great if one's mind, eyesight, mobility, coordination and all those useful things we might once have had, are still with us.
Regardless of what age we are, life is better when certain conditions are met. These are simple. If your life works for you at no significant expense to others and you maintain a preference for being alive...you just might be doing the right things.
Learning how to do things may seem a time waste to some but pays off in time saved, being better informed. Putting away things like watch, keys, credit cards, etc in the same place keeps me from wasting time hunting. (Despite that rule, a Murphy's Law lives in my house that says: As soon as I find whatever I have been hunting for, it will immediately be replaced by something else that goes missing. That law expands to: As soon as I fix something, another will break or need repair.)
Since I am a first generation American, I am not weighted down with a notion that I have to be doing something productive for others to make my time worth while. I take preventive steps, like oiling a machine to keep it working. Relaxing and stretching periodically keeps my muscles even. As a child doing my household chores I worked for a while, played the piano for a while, and then went back to work. I learned to reward myself many years before I worked on a Behavioral Unit and found my style was recommended to maintain mental and physical health. Having goals and rewards is very important to keep me on task.
For many, work and hobbies get off-balance. When work piles up, time stolen for hobbies puts on pressure...and even guilt. Imbalance sets up a chain reaction of negatives. It makes some people around you annoyed, bosses angry, loved ones feeling left out. Finding the right balance to your life requires great discipline. A good thing about senior status is that often there is not a boss (unless a spouse is considered one, which brings up yet another topic for another day) and things get done more slowly (yet another impediment). Additionally, the naive concept that working entitles one to a senior life of being able to do as one pleases, disappoints a lot of people when senior reality hits. Modern medicine has allowed lots of people to miss the bullet when in the past they would have died. That gained time, by not being employed, is great if one's mind, eyesight, mobility, coordination and all those useful things we might once have had, are still with us.
Regardless of what age we are, life is better when certain conditions are met. These are simple. If your life works for you at no significant expense to others and you maintain a preference for being alive...you just might be doing the right things.
4 comments:
Wonderful post. Your logic definitely appeals to the procrastinator, er, "time savorer" in me. =)
Ah, peal away the crust of a subject and you have appeal! Thank you valley girl...it is so sad when people don't 'savor' their time nor yours.
ack. having to leave things in the same place so you find them. That's me. Now I know where I get it from. KK has the same problem, you know. He just hasn't figured it out.
It's the first rule for those of us with ADD. ; )
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