Mayday! Mayday! It's already MAY!!!
Were you prepared for this? Have you made yourself accountable for everything that you promised yourself to do this year? I, for one, have yet to finish two posts: Takeaway 3 & Takeaway 4 of The Confidence Project. I just started working in a chemical engineering-related field and I am about to start my journey as a beginner pole dance student! Wahhh! How can I manage to do everything, you ask? I have no answer for ya. What I have though is a fire within to find my center and make sure I win (cue Mulan's "Make a Man Out of You")!
In the physical sense, I know that all the time in the world will never be enough for all of the things that I want to do. I consider myself a procrastinator and as such, I tend to have a positive perception of time. I also live by the notion of there being a perfect time for everything - there is a perfect time to work, play and rest. Living out this notion has allowed for me to value making time for rest and not feel guilty about it. This isn't to say that I don't feel guilty anymore, but it's a perspective that can translate to possibly positive things for me in the long run.
There is a time to forgive yourself and there's also a time to shush the crybaby in you. There is a time to plan and there's a time to act. There's a time to give up and a time to fight. I find that the hardest part of living out this concept is hitting that perfect timing. This post isn't an accurate step-by-step guide on how to tell whether the timing's right or not. This, however, highlights five simple situations in which you can learn to develop your 'perfect time' telling skills.
Most circumstances require for us to respond. Our responses are a product of our interpretation of the situation and our innate capacities. Here are the five situations that I think simplify my choice of response should the circumstances in life call for me to do so.
When you don't know which way to go - think.
Maps give us a means to find our way to the destination. In the absence of maps, we rely on our faculties to guide us to the right direction. We chart our course out to make sure that we are on the right path. This is the perfect time to think things through. Get your hands on information that will help you in your journey. Incorporate every possible resource, pitfalls and wins that will allow you to become more prepared should the occasions present themselves. I repeat, this is the time to think.
When you have a lot of excuses instead of work done - act.
Obviously, merely thinking won't get things done. The focus on thinking has to shift to acting eventually. A very good plan will be rendered useless if not followed through with actions. A good indicator to watch out for is your growing number of excuses of not getting work done. Should they outnumber the amount of work that you'd done, assess your progress. This is the perfect time to back your plan with actions!
When it's a lot to take in - breathe.
Our energy reserves don't run on unlimited supplies, we will get exhausted. This is especially clear when we force things to come out a certain way even if they weren't designed to be so. When this happens, I think it's best to breathe. I have come to learn that forcing things to happen when they clearly shouldn't will cause wasted effort. Sure, one can argue that there must be some skills that you get out from the ordeal. Truth is, there are times when you conserve more energy when you stop and breathe for a while before choosing to journey on to your destination again. The energy you invest in causing tension can be used to direct your efforts to get to the goal faster.
When you make a mistake - learn.
I'm scared of making mistakes, but there's no stopping mistakes from ever happening. So, when I do make a mistake, I'll try to divert my attention to learning instead of fighting the fear. Mistakes can be great sources of learning. I've conditioned myself to think of these as opportunities to learn. This is the perfect time to learn, sweetie!
When you're given another chance - don't mess it up idiot!
In the real world not a lot of chances will be given to you, more so second ones. When given such privilege, this is the perfect time to give them justice. Don't be an idiot and put them to waste! Grab them, use them to make you better and slay, sister! and brother :)
To be honest, these 5 things I highlighted are but simple guidelines. In real life, time is one resource that we have no control over. Once used up, we can never take it back. We may never determine to an accurate degree the perfect response to a particular circumstance, it helps to know that we have the power to choose how we regard time.
Is time your friend or foe?
Gail
All the photos and words were edited by @thegaillery for the purpose of this post. Original background images are from image 1 source, image 2 source, image 3 source, image 4 source & image 5 source.
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