“You have the look of a man who accepts what he sees because he is expecting to wake up.” ‘Matrix’

Did you ever get a feeling that your life is just a long dream? That one day you will wake up to realize that it was just a dream? That in reality you are not just an average person with an average income and an average life? That you are the one who was meant to make a difference in this world?

Well, let me tell you a secret. It is not too late to wake up and make your life what you want it to be.

Most of us have grand plans and dreams. But those dreams are overshadowed by everyday problems that require our immediate attention, worries about what could go wrong, “what if” questions and other insignificant but urgent tasks.

Unfortunately, time does not stand still, waiting for us to turn our great goals into reality. It keeps on going… Minutes become hours… Hours turn into weeks… Weeks become years. One day you may look back at your life and realize that ten years have gone by, but your life has not changed much. Because you kept delaying doing things that should have been done a long time ago.

This probably explains why there are so many articles, books, and workshops that teach us how to make the best out of every second and use our time in the most efficient way. Although, these time management tips and techniques can be beneficial to beat procrastination, they miss one crucial point. We are humans, not machines. We can not be 100% productive for 16 hours a day, doing only the things that we know are important to do.

Some of us love to play video games. Some like hang out with friends or watching football games. Some love fishing. Some enjoy chatting with friends on the phone. Some have fun playing tennis or redecorating a house. Most people think of this time as wasted.

I do not think so. It actually sounds like fun to me! I truly believe that the time that we enjoy wasting is never wasted time. On the other hand, most of the “urgent” tasks on our to-do list will probably not matter to us the following week. But we still keep doing these things, either because of a sense of obligation or for the sole purpose of crossing them off our list.

In our society if you are not busy, stressed out about upcoming deadlines and constantly complain about lack of time, you will probably be viewed as a “slacker”. For some reason “being busy” has become a synonym of “being a hardworking person”.

As a result most of us, who have mastered time management, may find ourselves eliminating from our to-do list things that we enjoy doing as “unproductive”.

• How long has it been since you spent “quality time” with your family?
• When was the last time you worked towards turning your goal into reality?
• Can you recall the last time that you did something just for fun and not because it was “important”, “urgent”, “productive” or “the right thing to do”?

Did you ever feel that your life is scheduled days ahead?

Before trying to use every second of your time efficiently and letting your schedule control your life, ask yourself one question, “What do you consider the real “time wasters”?

Maybe the time that you spend bored, in a hurry, stressed, unhappy, tired, angry, frightened or depressed is the real waste of time?

Make sure that you are not sacrificing one area of your life in order to become successful in another.

Do you have time to do little things like reading an interesting book, spending a weekend outdoors, watching your son’s baseball game, lighting a campfire or watching a beautiful sunset holding hands with a person that you love?

All these things are vital for a balanced life, as they give us a sense of satisfaction and make our life more fun and exciting.

Life is too short to waste it on tiny problems that will not matter in a week’s time. If you really want to get the maximum out of your time, stop doing things that you either do not like or do not need to do.

Make your life worth living!

Do not wait for retirement to start travelling. Chances are that when you are 65-70 years old, all you will want to do is enjoy the peace and quite sitting in your favourite rocking chair. Not going scuba diving or watching lions in their natural habitat in Africa.

Do not take people that you love for granted and do not be afraid to show them your real feelings. You might never get a second chance.

Do not ignore your kids when they beg for your attention. Soon they might not want to share their feeling and worries with you.

Do not expect happiness to find you, when you will make $X, have “this”, receive “that”, or become someone. It is up to you to make a choice to be happy right now.

Do not wait for the “perfect moment” or the “right mood”. What if there will never be the right time?

Do not be afraid to change your life! Someday it will flash in front of your eyes. You have to make sure that it is worth watching.

Tags: art time wasting, becoming productive advice, Time Management, time management ideas, time management tips, wasting time