Time Management / Time Muddlement

WORD PROBLEM:

Trina has 3 jobs, 2 kids, a dog, but no spouse. Jenny has 2 kids, a dog, a spouse, no job but does volunteer work. Mitzi has 1 job, a spouse, a dog, but no kids. They all three own houses. If all of their schedules are at different times of day, and two of them tend to travel as often as possible, when can they all get together for dinner? Answer: ______________________?!

Time seems to be one of the most valuable commodities on the planet. "If we only had more time we'd _____". "Where did the years go??" "Time flies..." These are phrases that are spoken and heard almost daily. Personally, I'd love a couple more hours in the day, but only if I had complete control over their usage. The "Have To's" seem to take over the "Want To's" and "Wish I Could's" so often. For example, I Have To work to pay my bills, and the kids Have To go to school to become functioning intelligent societal-contributing adults, but I Want To simply scoop them up and leave town for a week on the spur of the moment to do fun things in a foreign land. This, however, is getting off subject, or, as a friend of mine likes to say, "excuse me for digressing".

The real point of the initial word problem, is the management of time when it comes to what is deemed important in everyone's lives. Not that there are not many many important daily life aspects (some days there seem to be more than others!), but the juggling of the "Have To's" while incorporating some of the "Want To's" whenever feasible, while still maintaining a modicum of sanity and attempting to sleep at least 4 or 5 hours a night is no easy task. Add taking care of a couple of other people and animals into that equation, plus an active daily attempt at home upkeep, and you've got yourself a possible nervous breakdown in the making!

Now, imagine you're attempting to keep up that pace and 4 or 5 other people who are in obviously important areas of your life randomly show up and berate you for not organizing your time to mirror what they deem is most important. Do you attempt to juggle and placate? Or do you stand your ground while attempting to assure them that they do, in fact, still hold a very important place in your time pie chart. Do their actions make you feel stressed and guilty? Or is it possible to shrug them off without concern? What if one of them was your parent? Your child? Your best friend? Would that change your reaction?

I suppose my not-so-eloquently-verbalized-point is this .. in this fast-paced world where time seems to fly by instead of slowly meandering through, the best anyone can do is to make a little time every day / week / month for what is necessary for the sanity of your world. The expending of energy on guilt trips, meddling, and unnecessary stress is a waste of that precious commodity, Time.

The most positive thing anyone can put out into this world is a smiling face and a open-minded, easy-going, caring attitude. Just because it isn't the way you would achieve it, does not mean that it is not a viable correct option for someone important to you. Live and Let Live A Little! You might actually find some surprising extra Time on your hands! :)

~ The Girl In The Little Black Dress