Wednesday, November 28, 2012

How to Make Every Moment Count



Every day we are faced with choices of what to do with our time. Whether you choose to “spend time”, “kill time” or “make time” – the choice cannot be undone. There is no turning back.

Bronnie Ware served as a palliative care nurse in a hospice and often spoke to patients who were living their final days of life. In her article “Regrets of the Dying”, she describes how people who realize their days are numbered have an opportunity to see life more clearly. One of the regrets they had was that they wish they had shared more of their time with family and friends, rather than working so hard. Their reflections can serve as a window for us to see how important it is to make time for enhancing our relationships with others.

Steven Covey, in his best-selling book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”, describes how we must make conscious decisions of how we use our time. One helpful strategy is to consider what is important and what is urgent.

  • Important activities are those that lead to the achievement of your goals.
  • Urgent activities demand your immediate attention. These may be associated with the achievement of someone else's goals.

We tend to concentrate on urgent activities because we are afraid of the immediate consequences. Unfortunately, this takes away our time needed to focus on our long-term goals, including our relationships with others.

Watch this video to see a visual representation of how we should prioritize our time in order to make every moment count. We hope it helps you make better choices so that you are able to spend more time improving your relationships!

Post a Comment:  What is your best strategy for making time for your relationships?

Be inspired weekly! Follow our blog via e-mail!



Note: To Read More About “Regrets of the Dying” by Bronnie Ware of the Hospice Patients Alliance visit: http://www.hospicepatients.org/five-regrets-of-the-dying-bronnie-ware.html
 

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's funny how "urgent matters" can end up taking precedence over "important" matters like relationships- in my life, my close friendships are always a part of my to-do list because I need them for my sanity! I find I'm much better at dealing with procrastination when I have set up a time when I'll be hanging out with (a) friend(s). I see it as a reward for my work :)

Jen said...

Each comment has its own purpose, a person who leaves a comment has an opinion nor fact.

Jane said...

We always have a choice to do things because life is short. We should spend time with the people who knows our worth. Preach this post :)

Unknown said...

definitely we tend to do those urgent things because of its consequences...and we forgot to have or to make our time the best of it...focus is the best way to have or to make the best of our time...and especially when we have a family, it is important that we manage our time to make the most of it worthy and those people around us...