LIVING IN BALANCE

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One of the major questions or wishes that the majority of humans often let out of our mouths is how come we only have 24 hours in a day, and how nice it would be if we could have a few more hours added. It has for long been the silent wish of many people, and if it was in our place to grant, our authority to command, or we were given the privilege to ask for one huge favour, it would probably be in our request.

But alas, the Creator of time makes no mistake, and 24 hours have come to stay long before we existed! How then do we get off the path of complaints and wishes to assume the stance of balance in our lives while still giving our best to all that we should do? How do we make sure that we are not biased in our time allocation, focusing our attention on just one at the expense of other priorities in our lives?

Hello, tribe member! You are welcome to the second official post in 2025. I trust that the year is going well for you, and the past week had you making improvements as well. Have no worries, the journey is going to get better as we commit ourselves to making positive changes here and there. We can do it!

I’d like to also appreciate your engagements with the posts. I see your likes, shares, comments, and reposts, and I am sincerely grateful. Please, keep it coming! With your continued support, I believe these posts can reach a wider audience, and we can all grow together. Now, let’s get into what we have for the 14th of January, 2025!

The first two paragraphs which I’ll call my opening statements for today are one, I believe, has always been a concern for many of us. We talk about wishing we had more than 24 hours per day, often in jokes, and sometimes with all seriousness. Sometimes, we would even go as far as making a list of what we would do with that ‘extra time’. But the truth is, it’s all just wishful thinking! Even if we stick to that wish and even make it a prayer point for the rest of the year, it is still not going to change. However, there is a way out! And yes, the change lies with and in us!

Over time, it has been observed that one of our major stresses or stressors has to do with our work or career. I’ve heard of some working hours that got me super-wowed these past weeks! A lot of people have such busy or tight work schedules that often leave them feeling so exhausted at the close of the day, such that all they want to do thereafter is just get some rest. I would have said a good rest, but this might not even be the case a lot of times because before you know it, dawn is here again! Then, the early-hour rush returns and we have to get back to this ‘schedule’, and the cycle just continues!

While the schedule might pose a challenge, the bigger issue is that we are so caught up in it that we rarely get to see the other aspects that should matter to us- talk about family, friends, our faith and love walk with God, our health, and other big goals that matter to us. Before we think about all these once, the thoughts of deadlines and work to-dos have probably popped up thrice. Even when they eventually pop up, we end up tucking them somewhere in the corner of our minds, till we forget about them again eventually, only to remember when there’s another knock from those quarters.

Now, the question is this; for how long is work going to override every other important thing we should look into, when it is just in fact a fraction of the whole? Is there ever going to be any form of balance between our work-life relationship? How can we give these people or things first place in our attention span just as we do work? These are the questions we are hoping to get answers to today. Now, let’s talk! Draw your seat closer!

First, we have to do away with the wishful thinking that 24 hours should somehow be increased to 30 hours or more! Some of us even wish for more, but let’ just leave it at that. That thought has not really helped us so far, don’t you think so? Because we keep hoping for just more time, we haven’t come to terms with making effective use of what we have and managing our time more properly. Rather than ‘spending time wishing for more time’, why don’t we channel it into our all-inclusive activities? There is a lot we can do better and improve on, even with 24 hours!

To manage your time better going forward, you need to decide on the things that truly matter to you. Your life is not just all about work, it is only an aspect. Aside from work, there are a couple of other areas that are non-negotiable in your life, and to which special attention must be given. Family is important, quality friendship is gold, your health matters, your goals are valid, and your relationship with God cannot be traded for anything. Pin these things on the top of your list and start to give them the attention they deserve.

In the same vein, you need to decipher those activities that are not necessarily for you. In 24 hours, a lot of things come crawling into our space that we really do not have to attend to. Remember the text that says “All things are lawful, but not all things are expedient”? (1Corinthians 10:23) I believe you can also apply it to your list of priorities. Some things are good, but not necessarily helpful!

Let me give you an instance. We tend to keep tabs on every notification we get from our social media walls. In a bid to know what is going on, we get lost in the ‘web’, only to catch ourselves later and realize how much time had gone into scrolling or reading unending messages from our numerous groupchats. Being up-to-date with information is good, but do you realize it often comes with diving into some extra details that are not really your business? So, what exactly are you going to vote for? The lawful, or the expedient? Think about it!

Now that you are over the thought of getting more hours, I want you to think about something. How many hours do you have outside of work? Yes, outside of spending time in the work environment, traffic hours, and the like! Ration it and plan it around every other important thing you have to do. What I am trying to say is that you need to create a schedule! If 12 hours go into work, how do you spend the remaining 12 hours?

Another thing we might not have realized is that there are some priorities that can still get a chance within our work hours. You really might not have paid attention, but be on the lookout for those ‘window periods’ when you are not hands-on on the job, even though you are at work. That time can go into something productive for you, like paying attention to checking on family, friends, rest, or any other priority at the moment.

Another way you can start to plan your time better is to write down the thoughts coming to you as you work. This is one of the reasons you still cannot leave your sticky notes or digital notepad idle. A lot of times, our minds are in many other places even while we are at work. Different tabs are opened, with thoughts pouring in on what we should do as soon as we sign out.

You cannot possibly keep all the information retained in your mind, but penning them down will help you get that tab minimized and kept safely till it’s time to work on it. You could remember you were meant to check on a loved one while working, if possible, do it immediately! If you can’t do it right there and then, add it to your to-do list and set a reminder. Your relationships must be protected!

As much as possible, be diligent with keeping to the time you allot to activities. Hmmm, this might sound like a challenge, but if you think about it, you are training yourself on how to manage time more effectively. We are often so engrossed with the huge deal we are working on that we forget about every other thing, including rest. If 2 hours should go into keeping up with the scheduled number of pages of that book that has your attention for the week, try to keep up faithfully and remember that there is still a line-up of other activities left.

When we hear about a ‘regimented lifestyle’, the first thing that crosses our minds is being in the military or something that has to do with the barracks. We may be correct, but that is not always the case. A regimented lifestyle is that of structure, orderliness, and organization. It simply implies that you are making informed decisions and better choices with your time, rather than just being carefree or ‘anything-goes’ as far as your day-to-day activities are concerned.

We might have been putting more emphasis than usual on accountability partners this season, but that is something you need to leverage. That is even a reason to maintain a solid relationship with your friends, though their worth to you should go beyond just helping you stay accountable, and your love for them should be genuine. These are the people who can call you to order when you seem to be going overboard with any area, especially at the expense of the other. Listen to them when they do so.

May I also add this? The “impromptus” invading your schedule or space should not happen every time if at all it happens. By this evening, you should already be able to tell what tomorrow’s schedule looks like. That way, you can decide whether or not you have the chance to accommodate an unplanned event, and how exactly you can accommodate it.

I remember mentioning in a previous post that your schedule should not be an excuse to pull yourself apart from helping people wholeheartedly. If a call for help comes, be happy to give it your best! However, make sure you are paying close attention to your deadlines as you go along. If this ‘impromptu’ call is not sitting well with your need for balance, discuss with the person making the call if you can, make them see the reasons you cannot attend to the call immediately, and find a common ground that will be convenient for both parties.

A common ground could be in the form of rescheduling the meeting, including the need in your to-do for later, attending to them for some minutes if you can, or the person settling for an alternative means of help. However, in all you do, be respectful and ensure proper communication is in place. Do not leave this person in the dark or give false hope, especially when you know you won’t be available.

Here’s the conclusion; if only we pay closer attention to what we currently do with our time, we will discover that there is so much we can do and achieve even better. The problem is not the time range we have in a day, it is how we have been making use of it all these while. Henceforth, let us resolve to make informed choices and make better use of our 24 hours!

I had a good time writing (typing, actually) this, and I believe you enjoyed reading it as well. Kindly let me know what stood out for you in the comments, and what you will start paying special attention to going forward. Remember to like the post, share, follow the blog’s social media handles, and subscribe to newsletters. See you again soon, enjoy the rest of your beautiful week!