MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022, MAKING USE OF TIME - PART I PRIORITIES

 MONDAY, MARCH 7, 2022 MAKING USE OF TIME - PART I PRIORITIES

Ephesians 5:16 “Make the most of the present time”

Okay, a question.  Did you make good use of your time last week?  Think back.  How many vaporous hours of television did you watch?  How many hours of mindless game playing did you do?  Did you do some exercise?  Some reading? Some thinking? Some meditation? Some volunteering? Something of value for your family, friends, community? 

From an article: https://www.happify.com/hd/make-the-most-of-the-time-you-have/   There are eleven suggestions:

1. Rethink Your Priorities. ...

2. Build De-Stressing Moments Into Your Day. ...

3, Minimize “Empty Calories” ...

4, Get More Shut-Eye. ...

5, Exercise Early. ...

6, Remember: All Hours Are Not Created Equal. ...

7, Align Your Strengths With How You Structure Your Day. ...

8. Say “No, but Thank You for Thinking of Me"

9. Press “Pause”

10. Stop Chasing your tail

11. Give Time Away

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And, today, I am ONLY going to get through point #1 - Rethink your priorities.

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For 38 years I was a professor.  There were expectations.  I had learned time management as a college student.  What did I need to do TODAY?  What could I put off until later?  And … what did I not need to do today?

As a retired person, my life is different, and I have definitely slacked off on my time management skills.

Point #1 - 

Rethink your priorities.  I have some “priorities” that really are NOT priorities at all”.  My first hour of most days is handling non-necessary (but “nice”) priorities.  

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I currently have a streak of 861 days on the Duolingo language learning platform (relearning/practicing German).  Thus I think I “must” do at least one German lesson.  The Duolingo folks are smart.  They remind me that “learning a language requires study every day”.  If I haven’t done a lesson (aka - kept my streak going) by 6 p.m. they send me a reminder email.  

Likewise, they have a weekly competition.  I’ve been in the highest category and the second-highest category for months (years?).  If I can get into the top three in the Diamond category, I get extra points (yeehaw).  I have plenty of points from being on the platform for eight years.  Do I need to finish in the top three in the Diamond League? Not really.  But, I can get “bragging rights” if I do!!!  Duh!!!  (Who am I going to brag to?).  But, the Diamond League can be competitive to get to that top three.  One of the awards I’ve gotten is “Legendary” to finish #1 in the Diamond League.  WOOHOO!!!!  (Are you suitably impressed???)

So, some weeks, I do the minimum (one lesson a day) to keep my 861 streak going.  (Yes, that is over two years that I have done a Duolingo lesson!!!)

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And, that’s not all.  In that first hour, I want to keep my YouVersion Bible Readings streak going.  I’m currently at 594 days in a row (and 158 weeks).  The 158 weeks is over three years of doing reading at least once a week.  (The last day I missed was on a Sunday - 590 days ago <grin>)

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I have a small streak on my Crossword Puzzle game.  I’m currently at 52 days in a row that I’ve done the crossword puzzle.  

Now, bear with me - doing my language lesson is good; doing my Bible Reading is good, and doing my crossword puzzle is good - keeps my brain active.

Would the Earth stop rotating if I missed a day of any of these?  No.  So why am I so concerned that I need to keep these streaks going? 

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And, that isn’t all.  I have a Twitter account that I probably spend 30 minutes a day keeping updated.  Is that important?  Who would care if I didn’t read and respond?  I have a Facebook account that I check (maybe a little less frequently).

On my laptop, I probably spend another 45 to 60 minutes playing Solitaire (mostly FreeCell as I think that challenges my brain).  

This point on making use of time is about my priorities.  I find myself sitting in my comfortable chair doing “kind of” nice mental things to keep my brain going.  Is this a good use of my time?  Probably not for all of my activities.

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I have a priority to write every day.  It has been a while since I missed a day of this daily blog.  There are some days and some blog posts that take me three or more hours to write.  When I’m away from my laptop, I frequently make notes about topics I want to write about.  Yes, it is great that I write every day.  Do I have to write every day?  I’m not sure.  (Is it valuable to you my readers?)

Some days, I cut my blog short (like copying good things from other sources).  But it still takes at least an hour - to write in my editor (I’m using Google Docs), then paste into my Blogger Account (and run my Grammarly check), and then paste my edited corrected version into Facebook.  Is this necessary?  Is this a priority?  (Yes, there are days where I will write two to five blog posts),  There are also days when it is late and I’m ready for bed, and my brain will NOT let me sleep until I write a blog for the next day!!!.  OUCH!!!

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There are other priorities.  I “must” attend my symphony rehearsals once a week; I “must” attend my granny basketball practices and games - generally twice a week; I “must” attend two Church services on Sunday. And, I “must” walk at least three miles a day (approximately an hour).  I use my iPhone’s health app to record my steps and then the “MapMyWalk” app to record them for the year.  In 2020 I was in the top 1% of all the users of that app.  Last year I was in the top 4% of users, and this year so far I’m in the top 7%.  Hmmm - I’m letting my physical fitness take a backseat to Duolingo, Crossword, Bible App, and even solitaire!!  

And, then there are the “other” things.  My basic email inbox has “Good” information - news and information - but I get a lot of “kind of good” emails.  I’ve been going through and unsubscribing from those things.  (My brain sometimes says “But, Karen, this is interesting” - yes - BUT!!!)

 

(I fret about what would happen if I did have a television set!!!)  

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So, a note to Karen - GET YOUR PRIORITIES IN ORDER. Probably I need to put more emphasis on health - and less on “fun things” (even if they challenge my brain)!!

TOMORROW - how to set your priorities!!

LOVE WINS!!!

Karen, March 7, 2022