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Start Prioritising; It’s Time You Drive Your Life

The start of the year is probably the best time to start thinking of how you want to prioritise your time as we roll into the new year. All too often we hear it said that ”I just have no time…”. Yes indeed time is always so short when we need it. Yet time seems never ending when we’re in a queue. The fact is Time is fair to all. Whether you are in Singapore, London or Tokyo there’s just 24 hours in a day. So why is it that some of our friends or colleagues seem to have so much time on their hands to enjoy their life, yet others seem to be perennially scrapping to get that five-minute between tasks or appointments to catch a breather. It all boils down to how you prioritise your time and the discipline to keep to your schedule.

One way to begin is firstly you would want to have a vision of what you want in life. What to you are the most important aspects of your life and put them in List 1. Perhaps for some it is home, family, health, career, travel, friends etc. Family is certainly important. A Harvard University survey shows that most young adults believe that obtaining wealth and fame are keys to a happy life. “But a long-running study out of Harvard suggests that one of the most important predictors of whether you age well and live a long and happy life is not the amount of money you amass or notoriety you receive. A much more important barometer of long term health and well-being is the strength of your relationships with family, friends and spouses,” said the study’s current director, Robert Waldinger, as he shared some of the findings from the Harvard Study of Adult Development, a research project that closely tracked and examined the lives of more than 700 men and in some cases their spouses.

Next in your List write what you intend to do, or are already doing to achieve these aspects of your life. Probably, you need a good career, or at least one that pays the bills, which in turn would point towards the need to have some paper qualifications or skills. You also need time to socialise especially if you want to look for a life partner. Besides, we all need friends to chill out with at least once a week if not more often.

Look at the two lists and see where are the gaps, which will require you to pay more attention, or give more weightage, eg. in training, upgrading, or in social skills etc. Thereafter, plan what to do in a normal work day. Perhaps you would want to get up at 6 am to do some early morning exercises, get ready by 7.30 am to hit the road to get to the office. Your work may end at 6 pm – 7 pm or later, and you would have a few hours to socialise before heading for home. Or some would say their work never ends till 10 pm, then you have to think of whether you are the cause of this or it’s just the demands of the job. You need to take charge of your life and be in the driver’s seat. Not the other way around and let your work or someone else drive your life.

Perhaps, you just need your job and it’s is having a stranglehold on you. Then consider upgrading yourself. Maybe you should find time to do courses on weekends or with an open university to strategize before making your next move. It’s not uncommon to hear someone harking, “You must be mad. After working late on weekdays you want me to attend courses on weekends?” Well, this is your choice, isn’t it? If you don’t, then don’t fret and enjoy your long nights at the office.

You need to take charge, prioritise what you want to do with your life. Don’t you get into your own way and become the hurdle. Remember, each day comes but only once in your life time. Tomorrow is another day.

– This article first appeared in a lifestyle magazine.

Image from Pixabay