It’s getting close to that time of year again. Yeah, I know it’s still February, but Spring comes a bit earlier here in southern Louisiana than it does elsewhere. And as usual, the thought of revitalizing my life has me thinking about how I spend my time each day, how much is wasted, and how much is spent on things that will improve people’s lives (and not just mine).
With me following Dave Ramsey’s rules for financial peace, we’ve cut back our expenses hugely to be able to live within our means. Things I have to do without are mostly hobbies, but there are other things we’ve managed to reduce in order to have things we need.
This leads me to evaluate the hobbies I’m involved in. As most of you know, I’m a person of many interests, which is both a blessing and a curse. There is nothing wrong with liking all of the things I like, but I can’t spend massive amounts money on them. In order to satisfy my longings, I spend massive amounts of time on them instead, which as far as my family is concerned, is no better. They say “Time is money” but you really don’t believe it until you find yourself starving your children for time, because you have to complete that latest project, or just need to go to this event, or whatever.
So how do you and I Spring Clean our lives? The only way to not overspend money is to budget it. You take how much you have coming in, and decide what to spend it on, and hopefully you have enough.
I’ve realized (again, I do this every year) that I need to budget my time to “afford” things I need. I don’t really need to keep up with the latest trends of the automotive industry, I’m not buying a car any time soon, and I don’t have the money to do much to the ones I have. I don’t really need to see how many Xmoto levels I can beat. I don’t really need to shop for audio equipment, when I don’t have the time to use what I already have.
Things I really want to have time for:
- Finish writing my book
- Start another book
- Write and record more music
- Make more videos on how to do the things I love to do
- Find a way to enable my kids to learn and grow on their own
- Become my wife’s best friend all over again
- Grow much deeper in my walk with God… not just “do” things for God
- Be the perfect example of Love and Respect to my kids
If I can’t make time for these things, what good is anything else?
February 17th, 2010 at 4:34 pm
Truer words have never…well, truer words probably have been spoken, but that doesn’t make these any less true. I always find the days flying by without getting much accomplished, so this is a good reminder for me to remain focused and driven. Just as 4Him would have us remember: ‘We need to get back to the basics of life’. Good stuff.