Filling a Calendar

The past two weeks have been great. Things happen, things are planned to happen, and I have a very full calendar ahead. 


One of the things I really wanted to do this year was to make the most the time; to spend time doing things that make me happy, to use my vacation and comp days instead of waiting until I'm too stressed. To challenge myself to do more than last year, and not feel like I'm in a rut. 


What surprises me though is that all my plans are with people; people that I don't usually see. It's not me going places and wanting to be alone, or keeping people away. I'm not trying to convince myself that I'm okay on my own. I already knew that.


Weddings, Bonnaroo with my cousins, Lake House weekends with my family, Beach house week with our couple friends. Festivals, picnics, races, concerts; it kinda reads more like a summer travel guide. Traveling for work and adding a day or so to tour around, or helping organize an event or fundraiser; all included in taking a proactive step toward using my time in a healthy, fulfilling way.


In college and in my first years of working, I had a very packed schedule, mostly due to 5am crew practice, class and commuting. All of which I can say without reservation were mentally exhausting; no matter how great the class, how flat the water, or how awesome my iPod mixes were. Yes, at the time they were all necessary evils. But, I let those evils get the best of me. 


I stacked the deck against myself, thinking that the more I had on my plate, the more awesome I would be when I eventually overcame it. However, this thinking sucked the happiness out of what should've been some of the most exciting years of life.

I remember an analogy that for some reason I can't find on Google right now. It said, 

"Imagine that you have $100 deposited in your checking account everyday for the rest of your life. At the end of each day, the money leftover in the account doesn't rollover; it vanishes. So the only way of making the most of your money is to use it all, everyday." 

Money represents the time we have given to us. We don't get those minutes back, and if we don't make the most of them, they are lost forever.  


Don't let a full calendar fool you. Look at your time commitments and ask yourself if what your doing is mentally, emotionally, physically, professionally, or spiritually fulfilling. 


Are you making the most of time, or is time getting the better of you?