Play point 77: Want more time?

New year, new habits, perhaps? 7 years ago I started  this blog with Lesson 1, then progressed to Shares and today they become Play points 😉 Because the game of life is about having fun, playing with people we like. Yes, sometimes people come into our game that we have to get to know better, before making a decision whether to keep playing with them. However we CAN all ENJOY the game and it’s the small habits, sometimes practiced on a daily basis that are the pieces of the larger puzzle.

So what’s one of my habits? Every 6 months I do a time budget. Do you know how many hours you have in a week to play with? 168! But break that down to work, travel, domestic chores, getting ready for work, winding down, sleep, paying bills, running loved ones around and I could keep going but you get the picture. Where’s the quality time for loved ones including your own mental, physical, spiritual and financial health? The key is to put it on paper and work out your priorities. Do you really need to spend 3 hours a week cleaning when, on your deathbed, you won’t wished you’d vacuumed one more time 😉

Do you think your loved ones really want you working longer hours for the latest gadget or holiday, when a more relaxed you could spend time creating life long memories of fun, just playing? I love the saying that children spell the word love, “T-I-M-E”. So true! So how do we get more time?

We learn to live on less. Yes, that’s right. Less stuff means less stress. The more “stuff” you have the more you have to look after, meaning you need to find it, fix it, clean it, insure it and then replace it because you feel lost without it. By being a conscious consumer, spending less, you ironically end up wealthier with a richness of experience including great mental and physical fitness, due to less stress!

And since most people underestimate what they can achieve in a lifetime, while over estimating what they can achieve in a year, stop right now and take those 3 deep breaths I mentioned in my newsletter (you can subscribe via www.financialfitness.com.au). Stop. Did you take those breaths? Go on, s-l-o-w   d-o-w-n….

Get clarity on your BIG picture, the cover of the jigsaw if you will. What do you want all the little pieces to look like? What will be important in 5 years’ time? May I suggest decluttering more than you feel comfortable with. Yes, push that comfort zone a little. I did. I was giving some things to charity and then I read something that said throw out 9 items every day for 20 days. Whoa! I must admit I didn’t do that but I did comb the house again and ruthlessly put over 80 items on the bed, took a photo and then sent them to charity. Haven’t missed them yet and indeed, I do feel “cleansed”. What will you give away and how will you massage your time budget for what’s important? xx