26 September 2022

This week I want to continue the theme of planning that I spoke about last week, but today I want to take a slight detour from this and speak to you about the need to always spend your time intelligently, although planning forms a very important part of doing this.
Strangely, as I sat down to write my thought this week, I felt that I had written it before, so had to check my past thoughts, to ensure that I hadn’t! I think that this is because it seems so clear to me that we should spend our time intelligently. Apologies therefore if some of this sounds familiar.
It also seems so obvious that time is our most precious commodity, even more so than money is, if you think about it, you can always theoretically make more money, but you can never make more time!
That is why it is so important that we use our valuable time intelligently and only try and spend it on doing the things we need to do, have to do, or want to do and not just fritter it away doing things that we do not need to do, do not have to do, or do not want to do!
Remember how last week I spoke about how, with planning, you must always plan ahead and can hope for the best but must plan for the worst. I said that you also must always be prepared to be surprised and have a back-up plan, because things never go to plan? Well, the same principles apply here, don’t they?
If you want to make the most of your time, you always need to plan ahead about how best to use it and then also how best to use it if your plans then have to change, because something does not work out as you first hoped. You also need to be as flexible as possible, not take yourself too seriously and be honest with yourself about what you can and cannot do.
You should not just give up and negatively resign yourself to the fact that your time is now wasted, if something does not go to plan. Instead, you should positively try to be prepared to utilise time now given back to you, which in hindsight might actually be saved, to do something else, or try to do it again in a different way and if that does not work out, then try it again in a different way once more!
Also, remember, other people’s time is as precious to them as your time is to you, so do not waste their time by asking them to do things that they do not need to do, do not have to do, or do not want to do! And learn to value your own time, as it is far too easy not to do this.
Additionally, try and remember to not let yourself down, as it is easier to break a commitment to yourself than to break a commitment to another person. If you let somebody else down, they will usually find somebody else to replace you, but if you let yourself down, you are stuck; as there will be nobody else to take your place. Therefore, be a person that you can count on, especially for yourself.
So, this week, remember to always try and spend your time intelligently and, as I have said, spend it on doing the things that you need to do, have to do, or want to do and not just fritter it away doing things that you not need to do, do not have to do, or do not want to do!




