Random Thoughts Thursday part 7

Gone are the "lazy" days of summer, and this teacher is now heading back to school for several days of training and organizing for the new school year. It is a privilege to be given the "gift of summer" as a teacher, and I try to take full advantage of the time allotted to me. "To whom much is given, much is expected," I always think to myself, and I try to spend my time wisely. It is far too easy to fall into the trap of laziness and not accomplish anything productive for a solid two months, but that is too shameful to think about. We'll pretend like that has never happened to yours truly in summers past.

Don't get me wrong, I still work quite a bit over my summer break with online tutoring to help struggling students make some gains before the school year begins, but the beauty of summer is that I get to set my hours. I never book any lessons before 10:00 a.m., and I prefer to have all my work done by 3:00 p.m. Occasionally, an adult student will request a late lesson, but not more than once a week, so the evenings usually remain mine.

Given a decent night's sleep, the average person has a solid 16 hours a day to spend as they please. Cooking, eating, cleaning, and very quickly you are down to 10 hours left. In my case, on average, I work about 4 hours a day in the summer, so 6 glorious hours remain. What could you do with six free hours a day?

It seems like the more we have of something, the more we tend to take it for granted. When I play chess, for example, if I am significantly up on time against my opponent, I make the common rookie mistake of slowing down and imagining that I have more time than I actually do. This can lead to some very stressful, time-crunch end games that I am starting to become known for, and believe me, it is not a great reputation to have at the chess club. It is much better to keep an eye on the clock and learn to pace yourself to be able to complete the game with just enough time to spare.

For me, when doing my best, I am very intentional with my time and try to improve myself. I have developed a system that seems to help me balance my free time so I don't fall down the rabbit hole of idleness. At the risk of exposing my inner geek, I will share how I keep myself motivated not to turn into a sloth when given the option. I group my activities into four categories: Heart, Soul, Mind, and Strength.

Heart

This category is all about activities I do for other people. I don't want to go into specifics on this one, but volunteer work in which you can use your skills to help someone else, whether it is something small or large, can be very uplifting for everyone involved. I am happy to participate in other people's interesting projects. I have learned so much this way. I really see it as a win-win.

Soul

Again, I won't go into details, but this category is full of activities that feed my Spiritual life. Music, positive lectures, and encouraging reading are some simple examples. I never want to stay stagnant in this area. It is important to me to continue to learn and grow in my understanding of my purpose in life.

Mind

Feeding my brain is the easiest category to describe. We know the phrase "Use it or lose it," and of course this applies to our brains. Activities that cause you to think in new ways help keep the mind young. We all play chess here, but word puzzles, language studies, reading, math games, etc. are all great ways to exercise the brain. In the picture above are a couple of my more tedious hobbies: crocheting blankets and pine needle basket making. I OFTEN learn new things to do because it feeds my curiosity, and I love to feel my brain at work when struggling to learn a new task. My most recent challenge is studying German just for the sake of trying to learn something new in order to hopefully, eventually, be able to enjoy a beginner conversation with a friend.

Strength

Last but not least, we must take care of our physical health. Exercise. Full Stop. This is non-negotiable. Physical activity is a must for everyone. No matter your fitness level, daily movement is a necessity. For me, the exercises of choice are dancing and walking. Every day, one of the two activities needs to happen for me. Also in this category are things like eating healthy or a "mini-home spa" situation where I just take extra time taking care of myself with all those frou-frou beauty products that I usually neglect.

All together

Now here's the KEY: When I am feeling super focused and productive, I try to complete ONE activity from each of my four categories. That amounts to four positive activities done each day. If I can pull this off for a week, two weeks, or even a month, it is the greatest feeling. By default, anything and everything on my list produces great positive energy, and that vibe is contagious and always comes back to me.

Conclusion

Tomorrow will be a great schedule shift as I prepare to start the new school year. Time will be so fleeting that after taking care of my responsibilities and spending time with family, I will be lucky to have 1-2 hours to myself during the work week. Somehow this time will need to be divided between chess, dancing, and writing, and THAT, dear friends, is why I am glad there are such things as weekends. For those of you with a lot less vacation time during the year, time management must be essential to making progress in life. My hat is off to those who have this juggling act all sorted out. But hey, it is precisely this balancing act that keeps life interesting and pushes us to live to the fullest!

Wishing you all the very best!
Cheers!