Nickel and Dime and have no Time
This will be a short post because I shouldn’t even take the time to write it! But I thought I’d mention a few thoughts on being busy. First of all, it seems like everyone I know is always busy.
“How’s it going?”
“Busy!”
One thing my wife and I talk about is how busyness is always (almost always) a choice. Many times we say we’re busy, or use busyness as an excuse to not do something – or an excuse to why we didn’t do something. (Or am I the only one who does that??) Let’s face it. If we’re busy, it’s most likely our own fault.
Have you ever been surprised when suddenly you’re out of money when you thought you had plenty? And you wonder where in the world it went? If you are like me, you get caught up in what we call “nickle and diming”. Each transaction in and of itself is insignificant and seemly non-impactful. But all those things added up create quite a deficit. For example, what’s the big deal of a cup of coffee a few days a week on the way to work? Well, I added it up and it’s well over $200 a year spent in the drive through just for coffee. (if our local Starbucks had a drive through, I might need a second job to support my habit!)
I think we do the same with time. Agreeing to a small commitment here, a small project there, we nickel and dime our time away. And suddenly feel busy and don’t know why. And that leads to other problems, usually in our relationships. Just think how much time you spend alone in the car. (I mean, think how much time you spend just commuting here and there, not that you are by yourself in your car).
Anyway… my point is, I would argue that we’re busy because we make ourselves busy (generally) and I theorize it’s largely due to the many insignificant things that suck up our time all added up to one busy life. And who among us really enjoys being busy?
So what’s the answer? I’d love to tell you, but gee, I just have a lot going on right now.
If you have time, I’d love to hear your comments. Are you dissatisfied with your schedule? Do you feel too busy?
I definitely agree with you. Life is about choices. I think one big problem is that we get caught in our routines and somehow think that we have no power to change them. Kind of like ‘Well, I always watch TV at night from 9-11pm, so there are 2 hours I HAVE to spend that way – no way around it’. But obviously that isn’t the case. But on the other hand, there are a lot of responsibilities and time associated with running a household, working, exercising and being there for your family that can be tough to change. I think a lot of it is in the way that you look at things too. I know I need to work at this. For example, I often feel I don’t have time to do the things I want to do. I just never seem to be able to find the time. But then I think about what I was doing instead and I was time I spent with my kids. But I don’t always view that as a blessing and part of my mission.
At first read I thought this might be about the book, “Nickel and Dimed.” (One I’d recommend.)
But the busy-ness of life is quite the topic. Back in college a mentor told me our life is rarely a matter of choosing between good and bad. More often it is a matter of choosing between good and best.