What time does the day start? If you said midnight or a minute after, you may be letting convention unreasonably dictate your behavior. As well, your priorities and actions may not be in sync.
For most of my married life, I claimed that my wife and family were my top priorities yet during that time I planned the day as if it began just after midnight. The result was I did not spend time with my family until everything else in my day was done.Once I understood that work and other responsibilities got the wheat of my day and my wife and daughter got the chaff, I realized I had to change. Now the day begins between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. when I am at home being a husband and father.
Once I understood that work and other responsibilities got the wheat of my day and my wife and daughter got the chaff, I realized I had to change. Now the day begins between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m. when I am at home being a husband and father.
My decision may seem like a word game. However re-conceptualizing the day according to your priorities will change your outlook. If you had a very important meeting at 6:30 p.m. you would reserve your energy so you could focus on it. You would sleep more the night before, eat a better breakfast or lunch, be sure to exercise and leave time to check your notes all by way of ensuring that you brought proper focus to this crucial business matter. Do you see the paradigm shift? Why is it if the VIM is your family such preparation or reordering of your day is discarded?
Here is how to plan the day with priority management:
- List your major responsibilities
- Order them from most to least important
- Determine what times of day you can attend to each responsibility
- Decide on the time the day will start so it will support how you have designed your life
Other issues to consider are whether you are a morning person or a night owl, when those with whom you want to interact can do so, and whether the time you are currently handling a responsibility can be shifted so as to better support your priorities.
The day does not always begin for me around 6:30 p.m. Sometimes non-family obligations take precedence. But when the day does begin at 5:00 a.m. I have consciously decided my priorities rather than letting them be imposed on me.
Question – In accordance with what you value most, when should the day begin for you?
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© , Kevin S. Bemel, All Rights Reserved
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