Time

This quote from Benjamin Franklin captures the need to prioritise the passage of time. Time waits for no one, passes by, an ever rolling stream. It our limited hours, so many things and people scream for attention, clawing and claiming ownership. We often live our lives rushing from emergent task to another, living in what Stephen Covey has described as quadrant one activities. Urgent, but not important. What about the important but not urgent activities that steer the course of our lives? Another way to prioritise times is by the times dedicated to the most important people or things in life. We often find the most important people sidelined. God, our spouse, our children have to make do with second best and the left overs of our busy patient schedules.

Steering a course optimising and balancing all these priorities is not easy. The Scylla and Charibdes of the urgent and the overbearing threatens to squash our skiff into nothingness and eliminate choice. Reclaiming this choice requires the skill and discipline of a master navigator.

"So when the great scorer comes, to write against our name,
It matters not if we won or lost, but how we played the game."

Some practical suggestions I am still trying to use:

1. Decide the priorities. Decide who or what are the important things in life
2. Actively set aside time for them. for example quiet time in the mornings, time with family in the evenings. This will mean rising earlier, and coming home from work earlier. 
3. Limit your activities to those that fit in with the priorities. Saying no to other good things, but not the things which may be the best. 
4. Enjoy the times you do spend with your focus areas.