Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Make Time for What Really Matters To You

The Christmas holidays are over. Year 2010 has begun. I’m grateful for the quality time I was able to spend with my husband and baby, enjoying each other’s company and making happy memories during the Christmas break. It feels good to spend quality time with the people who matter to you. It feels so good to experience special bonding activities with them. But these kinds of bonding activities and good experiences do not come cheap. You need to invest much time making sure that they happen. To help our family ensure that we would have more quality time together and that we’d make many beautiful memories this year, we planned for this year’s family times before 2009 ended. Then we blocked them off in our family calendar so that our BIG rocks would not be crowded or bumped off by less important activities.

I encourage all you busy people out there to take the time to sit down and plan your year. It’s one sure way to achieve more of your goals and life dreams. It’s also an effective way to build strong relationships. If we had been on a mad rush last year, let’s not rush into the new year unprepared again. If you did not take the time to plan last year, then do something different this year so you could have different results this year.

I encourage you to list down your different roles in life and write down your goals this year for each of your roles. If you are a manager for example, one goal could be to get to know your people more and build rapport with your team. If you are a husband, one goal could be to take the lead in your family instead of just letting things happen. You can do this by initiating family meetings and suggesting family bonding activities that can improve family relationships. If you are a mother, one goal could be to spank or shout less on your children or to prepare healthy meals for the family.

Let me share with you a beautiful quote from a Hallmark card:

Life is too short to let even one day be frenzied or frazzled or frittered away. Life is too short not to take the time to do the things that will hold the most meaning for you.

I completely agree with whoever wrote this text for Hallmark. The Bible says that we should number our days. We do not know when we would join our Creator so we should make the most of each day in our lives. And by making the most of it, I mean we spend our time on the things and people that really matter to us. Work is good for us. But whatever job you’re holding, do not let your job become more important than the special people in your life. Don’t let yourself become a slave of your work such that your relationships are at the mercy of your employer/client. 

Start the year right by setting your priorities and planning your year so that you can ensure that you would stick to them. It’s not an easy task because it really takes time to introspect and plan. But if your family or the special people in your life are really important to you, then taking the time to carefully plan your year so you can spend quality time with them is worth it. Establishing the BIG rocks in your calendar or planner is half the battle. Honoring them when that day comes is another. But putting the important dates in your calendar or planner is a visual reminder to you of what your priorities are.

I used to have so many roles. There was a time when I was a Training Manager, Masters in Industrial Relations student in UP SOLAIR, leader of a Christian group of single professionals, daughter to my parents, older sister to my only brother and follower of Christ. I was juggling all these roles and I knew that if I wanted to be effective in all my roles I needed time to plan. Otherwise, it would be very easy to forget and miss out on important tasks, dates or events in any of my roles. Thankfully, with the grace of God and with the help of my ever reliable planner, I had been successful most of the time in all of my roles. I have achieved most of my goals and was able to live a full and meaningful single life. When I got married, I simplified a bit by limiting my roles. I’m no longer studying and holding a leadership position in the Christian community that I’m a part of. And I chose to resign from my full time job; instead, I’m doing business on the side. I made these decisions because next to being a follower of Jesus Christ, my most important roles are wife and mother and I want to do really well in these roles that matter most to me. I know that to be successful in these roles, I need to invest ample time and energy in them. How about you? What are your most important roles and top priorities? I hope you’d take the time to plan for them. And I hope that when 2010 is about to end, you’d look back and be satisfied with the way you have used your time and energy because you’ve spent them on those that really mattered.

By the way, I conduct trainings and seminars on Work-Life Balance, Time Management and Goal-Setting and How to Ensure You Execute Your Plans. You might want to have one for your group or organization this year. Just get in touch with me through email at teregmps@yahoo.com or teresa@fulllifecube.com. You may also check the other services and programs I offer at FullLifeCube.com.

Have a meaningful and happy year ahead!

No comments:

Post a Comment