Why is it so hard to spend your time on what matters most?
How often do you find yourself in a situation where you’re thinking, “What a waste of time,” or “This just isn’t how I want to be spending my time?”
I get that I may be in a position to do more of the things I like. That said, some unpleasantries still exist, and many come with deadlines. Such as getting our records in order so we can file our tax returns on time. Fun stuff, right?
Not the way I like to spend my time.
But then, when we have choice, we put ourselves in the same, “Is this how I want to be spending my time?” situations. Go figure. Why is that?
Here’s the same thing stated another way—we willingly, or unwittingly, choose to do things we don’t enjoy even when we really don’t have to.
Chew on that for a minute.
I believe it usually has something to do with pursuit of the great American dollar, or any other currency for that matter.
So, a couple of days ago I was reading Ian Brodie’s marketing newsletter in which he shared a deceptively simple, but powerful question to help us when we’re facing a money vs. precious time choice.
Wait! Wait! Why are we suddenly talking about marketing? Don’t worry, we’re not. It’s just that some of the best thoughts, ideas, and perspectives, and questions sometimes seem to come out of nowhere. And if not nowhere, from some of the most unexpected sources.
Wisdom can come from anywhere at any time, so keep your radar up.
Ian shared a quick story about a revelation he and his wife had while planning for the next phase of her business. After wrestling over an opportunity that would have made her decent money AND would have been a “bit of a grind,” she suddenly cut through their indecision with the question…
Is this what we really want to spend our time doing?”
–Kathy, Ian’s wife
For Kathy and Ian, their answer was a clear no.
And that’s the point here.
Here it is again… Is this thing I’m doing right now really the best way for me to spend my precious time? Some things need to be repeated in a different way to help them stick.
Okay, I get it—you’re thinking we don’t always have a choice.
Like filing taxes, paying bills, doing laundry, cleaning up the kitchen, purging our excess of stuff—some parts of life aren’t much fun, but they’re necessary. You just have to hunker down and get-them-done.
But here’s the thing to remember. More often than not we do have a choice. We’ve just programmed ourselves into believing that things like opportunities for more money override everything else in life.
Here are some good examples of what we’re talking about here…
- Going for the big paycheck over having more time at home with your family.
- Grinding away because that’s how we were taught how to do something rather than taking a smarter, more efficient path.
- Taking some guru’s vapid, one-size-fits-all advice on social media instead of doing what’s right for us.
- Passing on the career you know you’d love because some well-meaning mentor said you can’t make any money doing that.
- Blowing a whole weekend washing windows when you could have hired a professional who can knock them out in a couple of hours.
You’re getting the idea, right? Making better choices on how you spend your time will result greater emotional well-being. And only at the expense of what? Not having more stuff?
I’ve found that when you stop doing things you don’t enjoy it frees up time and mental space and suddenly you start seeing more opportunities to do things that are even more [rewarding] and that you will enjoy.”
–Ian Brodie, Value-Based Marketing expert
And since we’re on the topic of powerful questions, I’ll wrap up with one of my fav’s…
Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”
—Mary Oliver
I hope it’s doing those things you really love to do.
Be untucked.
p.s. If you needed this today, let me know in a comment. Thanks!
p.p.s. Cred’s to Ian Brodie, Value-Based Marketing expert for coaches, consultants, and speakers and the one remaining marketing guy I still follow for advice on how to promote my writing and coaching. He inspired today’s post by landing this in my inbox.
Copyright © 2024 Jeff Meister – All Rights Reserved – 98% artificial writer free
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