UNITED STATES—Time, it is the one thing in this world that you cannot rewind or get back. There is a saying that there is never enough time in a single day. We like to believe it’s 24 hours, but it’s actually 23 hours and some change. For most Americans, we spend more than half of our day at work. Think about that for a second, you spend more time at work then you do with actual family. That is crazy right? It is, but that is the reality, which means you have a work family and your actual family.
When it comes to work, you want to ensure not only are you productive when you work, but that you’re spending any free time you have at work, away from work or with people whose company you enjoy. Look, you’re going to have co-workers you can’t stand. That just comes with the territory of employment because we all have different personalities, so choose who you want to spend time with wisely. Your free time is just that YOUR FREE TIME.
On average most individuals spend 8-10 hours at work, and then you have around 6-8 hours sleeping. We constantly talk about sleep because it is so vital for our health and energy levels. If you get quality sleep it makes a massive change for your mood and the energy that you deliver. As a result, you cannot be finicky about sleep. I’m learning more and more, if I’m feeling tired or ready to sleep, I just need to NOT fight it and go to sleep. It does your body no good to fight your sleep because it puts you in a situation where you’re getting less sleep then you need.
The body has to rest in order to recharge. If you’re running on empty, not only is it going to impact your work performance, but it has impacts on your health. You tend to overeat and it can impact your blood pressure, stress level and a bunch of other things that you don’t even realize. So you’ve dealt with sleep and work, now it is free time. Free time is something I truly want to explore because how do you maximize that time without feeling that you wasted it.
The biggest proponent is you have to toss out the element of time. The more you focus on how much time you spent, or you are spending doing something you lose the fun of the moment. Just do what it is you want to do and forget about everything else. It is like taking a vacation. For most Americans you get seven days, but the first two days you are decompressing from work, the next three days you ACTUALLY enjoy your vacation and those last two days you’re thinking and becoming anxious about the idea of going back to work.
You’re thinking too much and you’re losing the moment as a result. If there is something you enjoy doing, simply do it with no regret. Just enjoy doing what you like to do and enjoy the glee that you’re encountering at the time that it unfolds. That means don’t live with regrets; don’t worry about how much time it takes you to clean the house if that is what you’re doing with your free time. You’re doing something that needs to be done or you committed your time to doing.
For me this past weekend, I had to find time to take down the Christmas decorations. I had been dreading it for weeks, but I just woke up and said, “Look, it has to be done,” and I started the work before having to go to work. Guess what within two-three hours, the house was back to normal, and I felt a level of peace, completion and glee on my face. I did something I had been procrastinating on and to know that it was finally done, meant one less headache to worry about.
I spend a bulk of my free time catching up on TV shows that I have missed or watching movies. That is my calm, so the goal of the column is for Americans to realize you’re not wasting time if you’re doing the things that you enjoy, so let that be your focus and forget all the outside noise.
Written By Jason Jones
