Writing and Editing your Life Story: Wasting Time

Maybe it is because I'm approaching middle age, maybe it's a mid-life crisis, I don't know, but this quote has become quite important to me lately.  It is so easy to just float along in life and not be proactive about how you want to live.  Superfluous things that don't matter slip in and if you aren't careful, you can find yourself going from day to day without doing much of anything.  Television, apps, games, and social media can all suck up your time like a sponge, and offer very little in return.

While it isn't easy, I'm finding I have to constantly edit my life to stay on course.  I don't do a great job of it, because it is so much easier to get sucked into mindless scrolling, swiping, and generally checking out of life.  I was reminded of this just this week when I re-downloaded the game Disney Emoji Blitz on my phone.  I deleted it many months ago because it was such a time waster and I became quite addicted to it.  Somehow I felt that this time would be different?  Well it isn't, so again it gets deleted.

So now I'm inspired to clean off more time wasters from my phone and my life.  It's hard to be proactive about living the life you want when you don't have time to even think about what that would look like.  

What time wasters do you need to eliminate from your life?  

5 ways to schedule your time to bring JOY and PEACE to your life

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How do you spend your time?  

I'm not exactly sure how I would have answered that question a few weeks ago.  I am aware that I am a pretty big time waster . I also am aware that I spend a lot of time spinning in circles (not literally), filling my life with "busy work" and not actually accomplishing anything.  However, I never really knew what to do about it.

Enter a great book study on 168 Hours: You have more time than you think by Laura Vanderkam.

Reading this book forced me to look at the time I had, look at how I was spending it, decide HOW I wanted to spend it, and make some hard choices to make those 2 things match up.

So I'm sharing my newfound wisdom with you.

1.  Pick your top 5 values in life.  

• These are the things that bring you joy and fulfillment.  It might be family, faith, fitness, or a specific hobby.  
• Write them down.  It's okay to have less or more than 5, but don't choose too many.  
• My top 5 values are:  Faith, Marriage, Reading/Learning, Adventure/Travel, and Home/Family.  

2.  Assess how you spend your time. 

• I recommend actually tracking how you spend your time for a week.  I used the resource from 168 hours - you can find a download of the time tracker HERE.  
• It's hard.  It's tedious.  It is no fun.  But this step is essential.  Just do it!

3.  Decide how to make these 2 lists match up. 

• You will probably be surprised at how you spend your time. You might even be embarrassed.  It's okay.  Go back to your top 5 values and highlight all of the time on your schedule spent on those values.  
• Make a list of things that are how you WANT to spend your time.
• Here are a few of the things on my list:  Spend time in the Bible and prayer, Game night with the family, Date nights, Read - by myself and with kids, Write more (here on this blog!), Have one family fun day outing per month. 
• Be willing to say NO to things that don't fit into your values - especially if they will take a lot of time AWAY from your values.  

4.  Stop multi-tasking. 

• This is a hard one for me.  I have been conditioned to feel like I am being productive if I am multi-tasking.  However, usually I am just doing two or more things poorly rather than doing one thing well.  
• I am finding that it brings much PEACE to my life to just focus on ONE task at a time, and doing that ONE task well.  
• This will decrease the amount of time I waste on social media as I usually find myself multi-tasking by scrolling through social media while doing something else.  

5.  Start a gratitude journal and spend 5 minutes at the end of day writing down 3 things that you are grateful for that day!  

• Find a notebook and start writing down things you are thankful for every day.  
• Another idea is to start a #365grateful social media challenge for yourself and post something every day that you are thankful for.  
• Once you get past the obvious things you are grateful for like family, health, and a home, you might be surprised at what you can find to give thanks for in your life.  

Working towards a simpler life . . . baby steps

We live in a culture enamored with the idea of MORE.  More clothes, a bigger house, more storage, the newest gadget, more activities, and the list goes on and on.  Not only do we see our "stuff" as a badge of honor and as a part of our identity, but we brag about how "busy" we are.  Why is MORE and BUSY something to be proud of?

As I get older, I am realizing how much LESS I want.  I want less stress, fewer problems, fewer obligations, and less distractions from what is important to me.  However, simplicity (and calm in general) does not come naturally to me.  I am Type A all the way, driven, extroverted, and often feel like my worth is tied to my productivity.

So let me share with you my 5 baby steps to a simpler life.  Most of these have come from me (finally) listening to my husband, who is lovingly helping me in this process.

1. Make your bed.  If the bed is made, my room looks nice and clean and I feel ready to tackle the day.  There is just something calming about a made up bed. 
2. Stop multi-tasking.  Unless it is driving and your second activity is listening to a podcast or audiobook, there is very little benefit to multi-tasking.  It makes you feel frantic and rushed, and rather than doing one thing well, you do a mediocre job on two or more activities.
3. Be mindful.  Even on a mundane task such as folding clothes or washing the dishes, I am trying to fully aware of what I am doing.  I try to be thankful for the clothes we have or the food we have eaten.  Simply said, pay attention to what you are doing and try not to live on auto-pilot. 
4. Unplug.  Put away your phone.  I have turned off ALL social media notifications.  Even if my phone is put "away," if I hear it buzz, I am tempted to go check it.  If it doesn't buzz, I don't check it until I am purposefully doing so. 
5. Get rid of things you don't like.  Don't keep clothes in your closet that you don't like and don't wear.  Don't keep coffee mugs you don't like. I can almost guarantee that you, like me, have too much of just about everything, so it certainly won't hurt you to get rid of the things you don't enjoy using or looking at.  

Now these things are not over-the-top, life-changing action steps, but they are small steps towards a simpler life. Every major change starts with one small step!