Bob Haases Another Can of Worms

A New Year Brings New Opportunities

One nice thing about a new year is that we get a new chance to do things we have never done before.  A new year gives us 365 days that we can use any way we want.  How we use it is up to us.  I understand that we all have commitments such as work, family, and other things that are beyond our control, but we still have a lot to say in how well we use the time we have.

Regardless of how much money any person has, they cannot buy time, nor can they get it back to use it in any other way.  Once we use time it is gone forever.  When you think about time in that way it would make you think that how we use our time is very important.   If time is really that important why do so many people use time so poorly?

One of the reasons that most people do not use their time effectively is poor time management skills.  These are skills that anyone can learn, but once learned they are a lot more difficult to put in to practice.  It is something like going on a diet but instead of managing our weight we work at managing our time.  You can attend time management workshops and seminars, or simply Google “Time Management” and you can get all the tips you need at managing time.  

One of the biggest things we do that contributes to poor time management is spending too much time on the things that are least important.   Maybe the time spent watching television would be better spent doing some financial planning,  learning new skills, or getting some needed exercise.  We don’t know what is most important to each of us unless we take some time to list the things that are most important to us.  Make a list of all the things that are most important to you and then prioritize that list.  Put that list somewhere where you will see it every day such as on the refrigerator door.  Look at that list every time you open the refrigerator door.   Are you spending most of your time on the most important items or the least important items on the list?

Spending time effectively doesn’t mean working every minute of the day.  Maybe the most effective use of your time may be a walk in the woods and taking the time relax and think.   Maybe it is visiting an old friend that may be having health problems before it is too late.  Maybe it is planning and taking that vacation you have always wanted.  If you use your time effectively there will be time to do those things.

Only you know what is most important to you and only you can manage your time in a way that will allow you to accomplish the most important things in your life. So what are you going to do in 2015?

Bob Haase is the host of “Outdoors Thursday” heard Thursday mornings at 9:10 a.m. on News-Talk 1450 KFIZ.