The Most of 24 Hours

Everyday is an opportunity to do something new, to keep the momentum going, or we can choose to simply waste time and hope something good falls into our laps by chance. What’s interesting is that the average person is more likely to achieve the same amount on a day-to-day basis, without as much regard to how much time is have available. If you have a busy schedule, but you still have your daily goals prioritized, you’re still likely to accomplish them simply because you’ve chosen to make them a priority.

The average American likely “works” about 8 to 9 hours a day or more. In some countries, such as Sweden, they’ve introduced a 6 hours a day. Are people in Sweden lazier? No, they are given the same standard workload, only now, they must utilize their time to achieve the same results with 2 to 3 hours less time. What’s even better, is being able to use those extra 2-3 hours of reduced work time to spend time with family, doing a hobby, or simply refreshing one’s mind.

Life is more than work, but of course, work is important. We can all be much more efficient than we may realize. All too often, we rationalized spending time on Facebook, Youtube, or any other social media to kill time simply because we know we have enough time to sneak in some slacking off. Why work hard at work if we have to be stuck in an office for so long anyways? What corporations fail to compensate for is incentive for efficiency. Too many people our wasting their lives away simply because there is no correction to the system and many employees are stuck, without incentive, to be at their desks for 8+ hours.

Since I hate following organized/strict schedules, I make a semi-organized list of my priorities. I’ll write down everything I want to accomplish within the day and write the goal I want to accomplish, or if a goal isn’t exactly applicable, I’ll simply write down the exact amount of time I want to spend being engaged in that activity. In that way, I’m able to allow myself the freedom to choose the activity I want to work on, without feeling forced to pursue goals in a systematic way. Sometimes I’m in the mood to do different activities in different orders. It doesn’t matter what order I accomplish my tasks in, as long as I simply do them daily.

Big goals and accomplishments don’t usually happen overnight. Those take time dedication, and practice in order to come into fruition. The most practical way to achieve goals is to move forward by taking steps each day. We’re able to be more efficient than we may expect. The most important thing is to start working on the next task as soon as the prior one is completed - momentum is key. If we keep moving forward, rather than killing time after a completed task, then we can begin to start adding on more goals and achieve them with the time we’ve saved.

For further related reading, please check out: Service, Care, and Sustainability.