Time

Time

It ticks away

Never ceasing

Never going astray

I chase it daily

Always a step behind

Each lost moment

Never more to find

Is time the enemy

Is it on my side

It’s always here

I can not hide

I must find a way

To coexist

In its presence

In humble bliss

Time

It’s all about time. What we do with our time is as important as what we don’t do with it. How often do we say; “There’s not enough time in the day.”

But I challenge that statement even though I am a poor user of my own time. There is enough time in the day. How we choose to organize our time is the essence of it all.

I’m trying to motivate myself with these words. A little self evaluation and psychoanalysis. We all have excuses for doing and not doing things. Not so very long ago, I dedicated myself to being more fit and healthy. I started eating greener and leaner and walking. I was walking between four and eight miles a day. That means I dedicated 1-2 hours for my “workout”. The only other type of exercise I did was in my hotel room before bed or when I woke. I would do flutter kicks for my core and knee pushups for my upper body. I wasn’t looking to have a model body, just less back fat and more energy.

And you know what? It worked.

So why did I stop?

I could probably write a doctorate dissertation on that subject alone, but I won’t. Let’s just say life changes created poor excuses.

And then time slipped away. There it is. Time.

So 24 hours.

I should try to break it down.

Sleep: 6-8 hours

This takes up 1/4 or 1/3 of your hours. How much sleep is required versus desired? We are all unique, and I can not tell you your answer. For me, I sleep poorly, so I could retrain my body for six hours with no effort.

So 1/4 of my day it is. Eighteen hours left.

Health: 1.5 hours

That’s a fair exchange for a healthier me. If I dedicate this at a minimum, I know I will start to lose weight and feel better if I also do the following.

Eat healthier. It’s not so much what (to a limit) but how much as well. No fried, no extra bread, more greens and fruit, less beer (a lot less), and smaller quantities. I am a tall male, so my caloric intake to lose weight is still twice that of some of my female friends. So they have to either compensate with more exercise or less calories. Burn more than you ingest and you can lose weight. Eating healthier doesn’t take up hours. You still have dedicated time for food prep/cooking.

Eating: 3 hours. No? Don’t believe me. How long was breakfast? Lunch? Dinner? Include travel time, prep time, eating time, cleanup, etc. we spend more time with food then fitness. That’s a crazy thought.

So I’m at 10.5 hours.

Work. Yes. That evil. That’s hard to figure for me. I pretty much give 10 hours of my time to that. It’s probably more with travel schedules, etc. but let’s leave it at that fair number.

Now it’s 20.5 hours. Three and a half hours left. What to do, what to do?

Oh yea. Social media, texting, chatting, tv, reading, and just plain doing nothing. If you have kids at home or pets, these 3.5 hours have just disappeared as well.

So you say; “See, not enough hours in the day.”

No argument here. Just make use of them the best you can and quit worrying about time. Just enjoy life and give yourself at least one of those hours to your health.