4 Hours a Day Makes

Yes, indeed….unless somebody has discovered a miraculous way to extend the amount of hours that make up a day, either you control the cycle, or it controls you. We all fall victim, in one way or another, to the hands on the clock. We ask ourselves, “Where did the time go?? I can’t believe it’s 5PM already!! or, Is it really Friday again??” Father Time has an uncanny ability to step right into our lives and walk away with precious moments. This scenario continues until the day comes when we stand our ground and say, “Enough already! I decide what happens to my day!!”

So let’s examine this clock on the wall…..most of us need at least 8 hours of sleep (if we’re lucky) So for argument’s sake, let’s slice off the hours between 10PM and 6AM. That leaves us with 16 hours. The countdown begins….we then head off to work, and donate another 8 hours of our time. I know, the boss sometimes demands a little bit more than that. But lets stick with 8. That leaves us with a grand total of 8 hours to enjoy. This is where the fun begins…as we can imagine, when looked at under this kind of scenario, those hours become like pieces of gold. Precious gems that we use to signify our lives on a personal level. Is it any wonder why so many people feel pressure, have health problems, and have trouble relating to each other?
I heard on the television this morning that the average person in the United States spends around 150 hours a year commuting to and from the office. I haven’t even included this statistic….so let’s just stick with 8 hours remaining. If we don’t take control of that time, it evaporates. If one has a relationship, and/or children, friends and pets….scheduling those 8 hours becomes key.

Can it really be that life comes down to 8 hours a day…..perhaps so. But with a little planning, we can take hold of those 8 hours and squeeze it like a lemon, to make lemonade. So before we go into carving up these 8 hours, during that commuter time play some music on a CD player, or listen to an audio book. That way, commuter time is not wasted. If you are using mass transit, bring along something to read. That way the journey will go faster. So let’s get back to those 8 hours. Within that time we have to have dinner, communicate with our children, have a relationship with our spouse or mate, make sure the house is clean, and find a few spare moments for ourselves. The planning of those 8 hours becomes key. Most of us feel overwhelmed just thinking about it, and+- we could pretend that none of this matters. Then all that would happen would be that as we get older, we become more bitter. Our lives do matter….that is why I take the management of Time so seriously.

If you find the pressure of Time overwhelming, you are not alone. Each one of us are dealing with it. It comes down to us, against Father Time. Do we sit back and allow him to come through the door and steal another day? Or do we take a slice from the pizza pie and tell him, that’s all he’s getting today? I don’t know about you, my little pie is pretty carved up…but I try to always reserve the smallest piece for my daily guest, Father Time.