I have always been a student of effective time management and balance in life. Talking with coworkers and real estate clients I know that balance is a challenge for ALL of us in today's time starved work weeks. I heard an expression that goes like this:
DO NOT GAMBLE AWAY THE SWEETNESS OF LIFE.
In other words, yes we have responsiblities and roles to play as Career person, Super Mom, Soccer League coach, work at the church, Rotary Club Vice President, Homeowners Association board member, blah, blah, blah.
But rigidly set aside time each week for the sweetness of life. Family, friends, personal development, what you love to do OUTSIDE your adult roles and responsibilities.
Think of your "prime time" in the evenings for example.
Limit TV viewing to two hours or turn it off completely. Spend time around the dinner table multiple times a week (all gathered) and learn what went on for the day. Curl up in your comfy chair with your favorite fiction or non-fiction book. Take a walk outside. Get some vigorous exercise and work that body. Call a friend and do some encouragement spending more time with them on the phone and being a great listener. They will appreciate it. Network with others on your computer. Go to a restaurant and try a new cuisine. Attend a mid week evening community event like a festival or craft show. How about the arts? Is there a local stage production in your area? How about taking in some live musical event? Take an art or photography class.
Find real life experiences outside all that responsibility stuff to not gamble the sweetness of life away by not giving time to it. Use your senses of touching, feeling, and smelling to embrace all that the sweetness of life has to offer. Balance in your life with these other areas. Do not put the sweetness of life on layaway. The good things in life are meant to be lived TODAY!!!
This is an important reminder. I really like the idea of limiting the time watching TV -- except for something positive like "dancing with the stars" (lol)! It is so important to find balance and to spend precious moments with friends and family.
I couldn't agree more. As always thanks for your reminder of what is really important in our lives...
That cake looks delicious. A very good reminder Gary & I will start right away! KM
You have to make time for family and for yourself. It may not always be easy, but it is necessary! Thanks for the post.
Betina
Gary - you are so right. It is so important to actually talk to your family around the dinner table, and to limit tv time . . . also, I love reading fiction books.
Nice post, thanks. I especially like the part about limiting television time. We always limited TV time when our daughter was growing up and now that she is an adult she doesn't even own a TV.
Thank you for your very well-expressed post -- life is not a rehearsal for something else ("this" is "it"). Timely reminder -- appreciated!
Thanks for the post on what is most important or should be most important in our lives. Sometimes it's easy to forgot what matter most.
Gary,
Great advice.
Where do you get your photos? It can't be easy to find an image that portrays sweetness and gambling all in one, but you did it.
Sandy
Hi Gary, you are absolutely correct that one need a balance in ones life. It is easy to lose control very easily in these industry because of the nature of the beast. I'm speaking about the time frame. Open house on the weekends, after hours meeting, and etc. Time management is of the essence in the Real Estate business.
~ Newbie
Good Morning Gary, that cake is making me hungry! Great post :) Life is what you make it - - live it everyday!
Hey, Gary. Great post. I can not agree with you more on this one. I do my best to placemy family first. Thanks and have a great week, Jim
Gary,
It's definitely a juggling act that requires discipline to master...but well worth the effort!!! Thanks, Fran
Hi Gary - With all the media garbage infiltrating on so many levels I must admit I'm having a difficult time with balance these days. There's no shortage of stress, I can attest to that. I've allowed customers to believe I'm ALWAYS there for them so they seem not to mind calling early and calling late - at my house. That means I'm on call for about 15 hours a day....guess I've got some changes to make. Last night I turned the computer off at 7:30 and stopped answering the phone. It was a small step, but isn't that how the journey starts :-) As always, thanks for the reminder.
Such wise words, Gary. I love the cake too, makes me want to enjoy some sweetness! :)
Joan: Dancing with the Stars is cool, just have the family all around you ; )
Michael: You're welcome. I'm sure you have this balance thing down.
Kristin: I'll cut a piece of the cake too for you since you have this sweet time thing down : )
Hi Betina: So true about balance not being easy, so we need to be aware of that. Good thought.
Sharon: Dinner table time and reading books, both major sweet times.
Terry: Not watching hardly any TV frees up a lot of time.
Li: No rehearsal. Great point.
Pat Champion: We need to know what is most important.
Sandy: I find a photo and then save for the future if I want to write something that the photo goes with.
Roy: We can't do it all, there isn't enough time. Pick and choose, and get the sweetness in.
Kara: Live it everyday. Words to live by.
Hey there Pat Preston: You're doing great with the blog, and your pictures, and your fur babies. Sounds like you carve out some down time in front of your favorite TV shows too. You're doing super!!
Jim and Maria: Family first is a great priority.
Hi Fran: Discipline will make it work for you, that's for sure. Schedule that sweet time.
Gail: Glad you're managing with turning the phone and computer off at some point.
Ricki: I'll cut you a piece of the cake for your sweetness ; )
Gary--You always have such "sweet" messages! Taking time to remember the important things in life is something we all have to remember to do!
Hi Teri: The important things in life as you aptly described them make life worth living. Thanks for your thought.
Gary: No matter how many times you blog about this, I remain guilty. I need to take time for me. Keep bringing this up. Eventually, I will schedule time for me.
Chris Ann: I can put more spins on balance than you can think of. Don't feel guilty. It is a work in progress for all of us, but the big warning is time slips away and that is what I call the gamble. Don't let it happen, or at least stop it. No layaway or rehearsal life for any of us!! Do your best. Schedule time for you NOW.
Hi Gary,
As usual great stuff! Like so many others balance was completely out of whack for me too.
I have an example of an excercise I did at a Dr. Wayne Dyer presentation in New Orleans at a CRS event over ten years ago. Since then, through coaching things have changed dramatically. My chart today would look much different, yet I keep the old one just as a reminder.
TV? What is that? We have tvs, but we don't have cable in our home. Therefore, the tv almost never is used. Guess what? My girls say that they don't even miss it anymore. GREAT words of wisdom, Gary! GBU!
Gary, great reminder for everyone. As a mother of 2 wonderful grown children, I miss them everyday and realize that there were times when they were young that I "was too busy" with chores and other stupid things (looking back on it) to color or play games with them. Enjoy your kids now!
And make time for yourself. I was going to my yoga class tonight, now I'll definitely make time to go.
Have a great evening.
Linda
Gary, With spending so much time on here I think I was forgetting--to get OUT THERE (wherever There happens to be!). I am taking more time, catching up with friends and watching sunsets...I love it.
Gary, I've found that I am spending too much time in front of my computer here at Active Rain, or as it should be called, Addictive Rain. I am trying to limit my time here as well so that I can get some much needed organization done around my house. It's getting there. I am enjoying spending time with my friends and dog as well!
Gary, I'm ready to get back to a normal balance; my life has been a little topsy turvsy the last few weeks.
Gary - I couldn't agree more... I watched ZERO tv last week during a much needed vacation, I actually LIVED life instead of watching it... I'm hooked!
Gary - I always try to make a time for the family, reading and recreation. But there are those times when I have to watch Dancing with the Stars and Amazing Race. The best part is my TV partner and daughter Kelsey. We have had some excellent conversations. She leaves for college on Friday and I am afraid will miss her company greatly... This week, my sweetness of life will be letting her go.
Gary - I appreciate the reminder. I've been busy this week and even worked a 17 hour day yesterday - I definitely need a comfy chair and 2 hours of TV. This weekend is all mine! - I just promised myself! - Thanks to your post!
Lynda: The two time charts are great for looking at where you were and where you are now. I bet NOW is a lot better.
Elizabeth: You can wean yourself off TV better than you expect. It's great you don't watch much.
Linda: Time JUST FLIES. You can see it with the kids growing up. Do for yourself now. Go to that Yoga class. Good for you.
Carole: Love those sunsets. Live life. You are tremendous with your commenting on Active Rain Carole. You deserve a big hug (((((HUG)))))
Hi Susan: You'll do fine Susan. Limit your time on Active Rain. It can be so addictive. I try to reply to comments but if you write an interesting blog you can get a lot of them, and that takes more time than writing the blog itself. Everything in balance. At least at Active Rain we have met so many nice people such as yourself. Good luck with the organization. My weakness too. xxoo
Hi Marchel: I hope all the power gets on for you in your area and the curfews go away. Hang in there. Normalcy will return.
Debbie: Live life. A great two word philosophy.
Leslie: Enjoy your precious time with Kelsey prior to college and your favorite TV shows. You are doing good with knowing the sweetness in life.
Carol: You deserve the well earned break. Enjoy it, and don't feel guilty.
Gary-How right you are... It is very important to spend time with your family. My family comes first with me. The balance you talked about comes from you being a Libra. You were born in the month of October-like me-so that makes you a Libra and the symbol for Libra is the scales. Libras tend to weigh not only the good but the bad to equal things out... Good post-and thanks for sharing.
My week has been really out of whack-I have not had enough time for my priorities and I am glad I found this post! You've inspired me once again......I am offline for now.....
Funny I read this now because I feel like this week has been crazy! It's been hard for me to set aside time lately, glad I read your post Gary. Thanks.
I picked up guitar later in life as I watched time roll on with just work , work, work and it really makes my enjoy my freetime and appreciate the career I have as well ,
Love the cake, love the post........love the line 'do not gamble away the sweetness of life'......what a good reminder.....now can i have a piece of that cake? :-)
Gary...
I think the tip that I appreciated the most was the limit on TV time. We have fallen into the abyss of reclining in front of the tube watching programs that aren't even interesting.
Of course, the two hours wouldn't apply to football, would it?
Hi Laura: I'm glad you explained my roots of Libra and the balance and the scales. I figured that's where it came from : )
Cathy: Go offline to live the real life and online for some of your reading and networking. It is all about blending between all that is your life.
Patricia: Keep thinking and working on finding that time outside your work. You can do it.
James: Guitar and free time. You have things in the right perspective. We don't want life to be all about work.
Liz: I'll cut you a slice of cake.
Richard: Two hours NEVER applies to football but there are too many mindless things we watch on TV when we should be doing something else.
Before I met my husband, I never watched TV. I did occasionally tape a soap and watch a marathon now and then, but I don't even do that anymore. Now, we watch TV but only DVDs or certain programs we have taped. Sometimes we watch concerts, with the sound cranked up really loud, just like teenagers -- cuz there's nobody around here to tell us to turn it down. :)
What an excellent blog. I couldn't agree more. In the high-paced world we live in today all too often we forget the little things and the people who mean the most. Spend time doing things you love.
Gary, you know the saying one mans trash is another mans treasure?, People dread getting up too early in the morning I find it to be a great time to connect with my son. His school is a 20 minute car ride from our home, he could take the bus but that time with no TV and cell phone calls and no buddies in tow are the time we really talk. The dinner table is a day wrap up in review, but mornings are whats ahead and our time to plan for events and father-son talks (no mom in the car). These are my Sweetest times.
Elizabeth: I love the loud concerts in your living room with your wild selves!! : ) You know sweetness. This is good!!
Allen: Spend the time doing the things you love. You honed right in on it Allen.
Steve: I'm so glad you found those Father-Son talks. Those will be remembered on both sides believe it or not for years to come. You have to recognize those times and cherish them.
Gary...
Balance is a beautiful thing...as well as living in the NOW moment! One reason I always loved scuba diving so much, it totally freed my mind from EVERYTHING except the glorious experience I was having. Peaceful, exillerating, beautiful beyond woods (I always had this thought, God had taken a paint brush down under the ocean and personally painted all the beauty), the feeling of being weightless, and the list goes on and on :-)
I'm going to feature your post, since it is so well written, and something we could all use ::)
Gary, You wrote a really important post. We often get to wrapped up in the unimportant parts of life and forget to enjoy the best parts
Hi Liz: Thanks for the feature in the Group. I can just imagine from your photos how beautiful it is to scuba dive and to see all the wonder of nature beneath the surface,
Mary: If we all just focus on the important parts we will be fine.
I suppose, that without the sweetness, all that remains is the sour, Gary. Have a fine weekend my friend.
Hi David: Sweetness is what makes life worth living. Enjoy your weekend too.
Thanks for the post - I always enjoy reading what you write - very good!
Great advise in these stressful days of our lives! So much going on in politics and the future of finance and real estate. Thanks for the tips.
Gary, Too many people waste their lives in front of the TV and the computer. I have been thinking a lot about the importance of time management lately. Thanks for the post.