I do not remember my first 186,400 seconds of life nor will I probably remember my last. In between the two extremes we do all our living and it is this in between that I am concerned with. You should be too. What we do with our 186,400 seconds a day will determine how fully we live our life.
Time management experts offer us many systems to help us improve on the efficiency and productivity of our daily time allotment. Most of these systems revolve around carefully planning and monitoring our daily activities within the framework of setting and attaining goals. Entire calendar systems are set up to encourage us to maximize the use of our time. The underlying assumption is that controlling our time will make us "successful" and that being "successful" is a worthwhile goal.
Each of us in a 24 hour period are gifted with 86,400 seconds a day as long as we are alive. That 86,400 seconds per day seems a much greater amount than just saying we have 24 hours a day. I don't know about you, but the higher number seems to give me a greater sense of urgency in how I spend that time.
We do not know when our allotment will end but we do know that at the end of the day, any of these seconds we did not put to good use are gone forever.
How we decide to use this time allotment depends largely on our values and previous experiences. If we value time for recreation and sports, we will spend a large part of our time pursuing these interests. It we are driven by monetary considerations, we may spend our 86,400 seconds planning for and implementing strategies for gaining wealth. The key point here is that we as individuals have to decide for ourselves what is important in our life and plan our time accordingly.
As a writer I have found it necessary to sit down in front of my computer and write at least 500 words a day. It is true that nobody makes me, but if I am going to reach my writing goals, I have determined that for me I have to do it. The fact that I enjoy it makes it easier.
This brings me to a key point. We are more inclined to do the things we enjoy than the things that are forced on us by others. Likewise, we are more productive when we are doing tasks that we enjoy. It has been said many times that a person never truly works when he is doing something he or she enjoys.
So, neither I nor some time management expert can tell you have to use your 86,400 seconds per day. You can happen to life or let life happen to you. Your choice on a given day might be to let life happen to you. And that is alright too!
Your goal that day might be to simply relax and go with the flow. If that is how you want to use those daily seconds it is your choice. If you and I are not driven toward constantly trying to fill our days with goal attainment, it could be that we will be more successful in attaining our goals on the days that we do. A day of relaxation goes a long way.
Don't forget to factor in your family, friends, and community when planning for your daily 86,400 seconds. After all, it is your 86,400 seconds. Don't be bullied into thinking that every moment of every day has to be directed toward some achievable end. After all, you start a new day tomorrow with an additional 86,400 seconds.
