None of us are ever really sure of how much time we have. Now and then you may have pondered if I knew how much time I had, what would my top priorities to make my life as fulfilling as possible be? For me a lot of happiness comes from my relationships with my family, therefore spending time with them is a huge priority. What I do know is- our time is limited!
Here is the thing. I am a stay-at-home Mom and I spend lots of time with my children. However, not all of it is quality time. Currently our family has a lot going on, which I will fill you more in on soon. Not to sound really mysterious but there are a few things we have to get in order before I spill the big news.
I believe a huge number of us struggle to fit in the things that are important to us that make our life fulfilling, and in return happier. You don’t have to have a family for this to be the case. There can be any number of things biding for your time, taking away from what is truly important to you.
Making the best of your circumstances is for me the only way to go. You may be able to change your situation in such a way to yield more fulfillment of your time. However, even when you are doing exactly what you want to be doing you still need to be conscious of where your time is going, and if the way you are spending it is personally fulfilling for you.
Back to what I was saying, my relationships with my family are very fulfilling for me, and having quality time with my loved ones is a top priority. Something I would put at the very top of my list even if I knew exactly how many days, hours, minutes I had left.
All too often with the chaos of life I wasn’t going to bed each night feeling completely fulfilled with the precious time I was spending with my family. Time is a gift, and so it occurred to me I need to make the most of it, thus I have scheduled in daily quality time.
Not everyone wants to live by a schedule. For me at the point I am at right now it is the best way to make sure I am making the most of my time. I have scheduled in an hour of 100% quality time with my kids. This might sound silly coming from a stay-at-home Mom but here is the thing. Between mornings, pre-school, meals and snacks and the big clean-ups that come with them. As well as outdoor time with friends, bath time, bed time routines, and all the other numerous things that enter our schedules, a lot of days I felt like I was missing that quality time that is so essential to my relationships and personal life fulfillment.
How do I make sure something that needs to get done does? Well I schedule it in. When that hour of quality time with my kids hits I let everything else go. Dishes may have to wait, crumbs, phone calls, emails, all of it, it all waits. I focus 100% of my attention on them. During that time there is no more distracted conversations with my kids, or any ‘in just a minute’. I allow myself to simply be with them. Mostly play with them. They love it, I love it, and I go to bed feeling fulfilled knowing that my quality time with them is actually a priority.
It doesn’t have to be your kids; it can be un-distracted quality time with your partner, or a walk with your dog. If you had one more day what would you definitely want to fit in? Don’t wait to do it. Make it happen NOW! I think you’ll find your life more fulfilling when you do. Time is a gift, not a guarantee.
Next on the list to make sure I regularly fit in, quality time with my husband. Relationships are extremely important to our overall happiness. Only you can make sure your time counts!
If you knew how much time you were gifted what would be on the top of your priority list? Is it more important than what you are often spending your time doing? How can you make sure you fit it in?
