Over these past two weeks I have been using my time more wisely, mostly
because I was forced to. We were switching over our internet/cable provider, so
we were cut off. Not being able to watch tv or stream videos/watch Netflix was
probably one of the best things to happen to me in a long time, even though I
was convinced that I wouldn’t survive without it. It actually served to be
quite an eye opener of how I spend my time, and therefore my life.
I can’t believe how much of my life I was wasting.
My Morning Routine:
During my morning getting ready for work I would usually listen to
music, trying to get myself into a good mood for the day. Then, during my
morning commute I would just sit there and listen to music. My commute is 40
minutes. That’s almost an hour and a half of time that I would pretty much do
nothing with each day. What I changed was very simple, but it has made a world
of difference. When I’m getting ready in the morning, I now listen to my German
learning software. Then when I’m on the bus and the Go train, I go through my
little German Lesson’s language learning book which conveniently is quite small
and portable. Sometimes I do the same thing on my commute home, or I relax by reading
a book. Mind you, I’m still listening to music while I do this (I have a brain
that allows me to do both and not be distracted), so I still get myself into a
good mood for the day.
My Evening Routine:
Before the tv abstinence, I would pretty much just come home, cook
dinner, and then sit down in front of the tv to eat it…..and would get stuck
there until I decided to shower and get ready for bed. This was a considerable
waste of time. Now, when I get home I still cook dinner, but I get right on my
TESL course. Just by taking an hour or two after work, I am quickly making my
way through this course and am on my way to having a certification under my
belt that might help further my career. Even if it doesn’t, the fact that I am
now spending my free time learning (languages or new skills) makes me feel like
I am accomplishing something…I’m challenging myself. I am the type of person
who can easily begin to feel depressed about my life if I have no challenges
and don’t feel accomplished. I realized that if I’m not feeling challenged by
my work-life, then I must challenge myself in my personal life.
Personal life….that has actually been one of the most eye opening
things of all. As I said in a post or two before this, now that I was on a
regular work schedule, I was trying to find enjoyment in my free time and was
finding things to do and spending time with friends and family. I cannot stress
this enough….this is the most rewarding thing that I’ve ever done for myself. My
personal relationships matter to me very much and I am willing to invest the
time in them. On top of that, I’m finding ways to do this that also engage
other passions of mind, i.e. my creative side. I’ve gone to two Paint Nite’s so
far, and they have both been wonderful. I get to spend time with my friends,
but it’s not in someone’s living room watching tv or in a movie where we can’t
talk, it’s in an environment where we not only talk and catch up, but we are
actually creating something. Being able to engage in something creative is
therapy for me! I am a creative person, so that needs an outlet. I also went to
a cooking class with a friend this past week and that was equally a wonderful
creative outlet and an opportunity to learn and create while also being able to
socialize and catch up. Despite the fact that going out to these events can
sometimes make me quite tired at work the next day, they are unbelievably worth
it and I never miss an opportunity. With no distraction of tv’s, and meeting in
an environment and for an activity that keeps our phones out of our hands and
wherein we can actual engage with each other, I have never felt more like I am
making good use of my time. Even today on my lunch break I was on facetime with
a friend in Manitoba. You have to find the time for the people who mean a lot
for you and for the things that give your life meaning, otherwise what are you
doing with your life?
I was inspired to write this post because of a video (link is below) that my cousin
shared on Facebook, one that everyone is probably familiar with now. I realized
that it has definitely become a problem that there are so many distractions in
our lives that we no longer effectively communicate and we miss out on things
all around us.
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How much of my life have I missed out on when I was at home watching
tv? How many people have I missed out on meeting because I wasn’t in a certain
place, or I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings, or even because I was
giving off this aura of disinterest (that I just wanted to sit there and listen
to my music and not talk to anyone). I was on the bus yesterday and the bus
driver talked to us and joked with us over the PA system the entire ride. Some
people seemed put off by the disruption to their ordinarily silent commute home
from work, but most people were delightfully surprised. An entire bus of
strangers began engaging with each other in a communal conversation started by
one person who didn’t care if everyone thought he was crazy. When did it become
crazy to speak and have a conversation? Why do we not even want to make eye
contact with each other? How unbelievably lonely is that kind of life!?!?!?!?!?
I love meeting new people and having out of the blue conversations with
strangers. I don’t want to be numb and merely pass through life…..I want to
live life!!!!!
Me living life begins with me taking charge of it, actively working
towards goals. So I decide to learn a language, or I decide to take a cooking
class, I join a book club…..these are all very simple things that anyone can do,
you just have to take the time to do it. I used to believe that I was too busy
and didn’t have the time to do much in my life. Then I realized I have plenty
of time if I cut out a lot of bad habits, like vegging out in front of the tv.
There seems to be a lot of time in the day now, and the possibilities are
endless.
“time is a non-renewable resource, so it’s better to use it as efficiently as possible”
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