Restructure Your Lifestyle

Aren't you tired of hearing people advise you to do certain things with time? Like, find time. Make time. Don't lose time. You shouldn't waste time. Use time wisely.

That may all be sound advise, however the truly endearing words to our ears would really be, "it's play time." After all, don't we still deserve it? Now, more than ever before?

Individuals can actually accomplish a lot more if they just learned to devote time for themselves. We work hard. We struggle through the pressures of life. We're often found trying to get ahead and meet the demands of our job or family. Yet, if we don't stop and give ourselves attention, we suffer to some degree.

Of course, you may wonder, "How can I do that?" There is no one way to manage this. Everyone has variable circumstances, each with some unique problems in doing achieving this aim. But, the first thing to realize is that you are not managing time to do this. You are managing yourself.

In order to manage yourself, priorities must be established. What do I mean by priorities? It isn't just those "most important" things to do. It is prioritizing those things which are most important to you. In focusing less on the tangible and more on the fulfillment of things you value, you'll achieve a sense of balance. We just need to determine what those activities are.

Take a look at what your leisure desires are. Travel? Boating? Bowling? Dancing? Dining out more? Visiting with friends? Deciding what you want to do is the first step to having time to do it.

Priorities should therefore encompass: Family relations, personal enrichment, health, pursuing passions, and working toward long-range goals. Life is more fulfilling when you're doing those things that bring you joy. There's no need to sacrifice career, family, and well-being to achieve balance in your life. You don't necessarily need to change jobs either. Just change yourself.

You can create your own lifestyle. It isn't something created for us, believe it or not. I know we'd like to believe that others control our lives, and that we're not in control, but that just isn't true. We do have choices.

Part of the choices we make have to do with doing those things that align with our purpose. You can take any task and turn it into a purposeful one, giving it importance and meaning. If you do it any other way, it's just a task. So, the way we view our activities has a great deal of impact on how we approach them.

To gain a new perspective, look at how your activities align with your vision and goals. For example, you can view that dreaded job as the job that provides for your family. Or, you might view the hassles of exercise as a way of staying healthy for those who love and rely on you.

Keep these things in mind when recreating the structure of your life:

1. focus on doing more activities that are in sync with your purposes

2. schedule your priorities (say "no" to things that don't align with your purpose)

3. when planning your schedule, refer to those activities that get you from where you are now to where you want to be.

The "trick" is in not making work the center of your universe. Step off the "work speedway" temporarily to regain a sense of balance. Separate what's really important to you in life. Those are your priorities.