Now I am not going to regurgitate reams of tips from time management books, because in my opinion I have gained little from the ones that I have read, and they are full of unachievable rubbish. There is only one thing, in my humble opinion, that will give you back the time that you think you have lost.
By that statement, I mean that by setting achievable goals, making simple plans, then acting upon those plans. This is a life lived with purpose. So little time wasted, and so much achieved. It worked for me!
Okay, I fibbed. I do have one more tip that I live by.
You will be amazed how much time you get back in your life. Just think, by acting on those plans and reaping the rewards, you will rarely be bored, and not seek the mindless garbage spewing out of the idiot box. A simple philosophy, but one I believe to be true (except for Star Trek of course).
Before someone says that they have to use a screen to read this blog, and I used one to write it, remember that reading and writing this blog (and researching for it) are my goals (and probably yours as well) and therefore purposeful acts. I do, however, appreciated the irony!
Opinions please? Do you think that I am over simplifying?
I love lazing my time away! During the summer holidays, as part of my better living endeavours, I would practise “No TV Tuesdays”. I was surprised at how much I did get done. It was probably the most productive I would be for the whole week. I had intended implementing “Cyber Free Fridays”. Hmmmm. Still getting to that one!
Nice one Rivergirl. I too have a cyber free day (at home anyway) on Thursdays. That is the day I take a rest from the blog and the computer, and spend time with Kim and Ben.
Gav
I have completely gone off TV organically over the last year or so. Although, I have replaced that screen time with time on an iPad. That is spent reading blogs and writing my own though which is far better that staring vacant,y at The Simpsons!
Couldn’t agree more Edwina.
I turned the tv off years ago when my kids were little! It gave me so much more time with them. I decided that time with them was better spent then time with the vacuum lol. Now they are all grown um and gone and the vacuum is still here so good call I say!
Having no tv gives heaps of time, I do spend a lot of time on the computer reading blogs, writing comments 😉 and writing my own blog. But those are the things that teach me, make me think and encouragement me to get out there and do things, new things.
I hear the same things, people don’t have time for anything, are amazed at what I get done, and sometimes it even amazes me. But I focus on the things that I find important.
See time as a bowl, now there are many ways to fill it up. Start with the sand and pebbles and you’ll never be able to fit the rocks into the bowl. If you start with the bigger rocks, you’ll see that pebbles and then sand will fill all the gaps. The rocks are you’re focus points, the pebbles important, the sand is a filler.
So I might be “wasting” my time reading and commenting blogs. I’ve already done a trip to the famers markets and butcher, the washing machine is going, the chooks are fed, garden is watered and I have a bread rising. Just drinking my cup of tea before I go into the garden to plant some more fruit trees, you’re the cookie to complement my cuppa. Thank you.
Marijke, I feel privileged to be the cookie to your cuppa!
Gav x
Turning off the TV has to be the best piece of advice to people who “have no free time”.
I’m amazed how many people will tell you one minute how busy they are and how they have no time to do anything, but will then turn around and talk to other people about all the “reality” singing/cooking/renovation shows and dramas!
I’ve also found that if you stop watching live TV and record shows to a digital recorder (or more recently, watch them over the internet using the “catch-up” services most channels have), you don’t end up watching anywhere near as many of them.
Good point Darren. Using services like iView certainly have changed Kim’s viewing habits. That is all she watches now, which skip the ads (especially on ABC TV)
Gav
People often wonder how I have time to do the things I do, especially as a single parent working full time in foreign lands. But then I don’t watch TV. I tried it yesterday, but there was nothing but utter rubbish on, so I did stuff… I collected kids from school, did a patch of weeding in the garden, made son early tea (ok leftovers) and took him to Venturer Scouts, came back and made dinner for daugher and me, made a sleeping bag liner for her camp this weekend, put in washing and folded up the dry stuff, watched 20 mins of James May on Space (supporting daughter’s science studies) on YouTube while we ate dinner (only when it’s the 2 of us), collected son, daughter to bed, me some hand sewing, son to bed, me to bed, read a few chapters of a novel on my kindle… zzzzzz!!! Howzat? TV would have killed ALL of that energy to do Stuff! If only I could persuade the kids that their computers are not the be-all and end-all of their lives!!! 😉
I’m with you on this one – I’m not opposed to a bit of screen time, if it’s used intentionally. A family movie night perhaps, or a documentary on climate change :). We have a TV, but no channels – it’s essentially our DVD screen. We all have the same 24 hours, yet some people seem to get a lot more packed into that time than others. The fact is, it comes down to the small daily choices we make…and it sometimes takes some self discipline, a dirty word these days. I’m no angel in this regard, for sure, but I’m aware of my choices, and do my best to “live with purpose”.
You definitely are not over simplifying..The problem is we have made our lives to complex. A little simplification is definitely in order.
Anni
It annoys me to hear people talk about how busy they are. People make time to do what they want to do – it’s as simple as that !
I agree that watching too much tv is a time-waster, although I’d probably watch more myself if there was something on that was worth watching. TV, for kids especially, can be a creativity killer.
Thanks for your post.
First off, this is my first visit to your blog and I love it. My husband and I are also going greener these days. Over the past few years we’ve gardened much more intensively and introduced a flock of chickens to the yard. I thought I was the only one that logged the egg count but I see I have found a twin soul in that regard.
As for the screen time, you are absolutely right. TV was a big problem for me. I found that if I look at the TV guide BEFORE turning on the tv I am less likely to turn it on. Once it’s on I pretty much mindlessly surf from one channel to the next.
Now, however, I find that I struggle with the internet. I surf the internet the same way that I used to channel surf the tv. It can be a difficult habit to break and does require mindfulness.
It was good to read your thoughts on the matter. Keep up the good work on your blog.
Hi Roberta, thanks for dropping by the blog. Well done on your sustainable journey so far!
Gav x
Thanks for all your comments. Yes, Television certainly is a brain drain, and you can get so much done just by turning the box off at the wall!
Gav