Time: The Greatest, And Now Most Abundant, Commodity

Back when I was a supervisor, the most common complaint I received was, “I don’t have enough time…” I started using this excuse recently too. I found myself overwhelmed with the number of things I was trying to accomplish and just not enough hours in the day. Well…I have plenty of time now!

I realized something recently. Now that I am working from home, I see my family more than ever. It wasn’t until I was here in the office listening to my girls play outside that really understood how much time I lose with them at work. I would get home from work at 5 pm and the girls would go to bed at 8 pm. In that scenario, I was giving work 10 of my best hours and giving my family 3 or my worst hours (being tired and stressed from work and cooking dinner and all the other crap you have to do when you get home). That isn’t what I would call a work life balance.

Now that I have all this extra time. I spend more time with my family. I exercise more. It is pretty much better all around.

So why did it take a pandemic to bring me to this conclusion?

Well for one, we get stuck in our ways. My day job firmly believes that you can’t be doing work if you aren’t at your desk. In the 21st century, that isn’t correct. But since they think that way, I just accepted it and never pushed for change. I am now going to start pushing for it. I never realized how much I was actually missing.

There is a reason underneath that too. There is the initiative, on my part, needed to make the life that I want. If I don’t take time, I’ll never have time. My company is never going to come to me and say, “Brandon, you work so much, please work less and spend more time with your family.” No, they will take everything they can get. If I want this to be my life, I need to take the initiative to make it happen.

This pandemic has forced us all to slow down and assess where we are and if we are happy with that. Where your treasure is, so will be your heart…and your time. There are some of us who would rather be at work, I get that. That is where your heart is, so that is where your time should be. My heart is with my God, my family, and my dream. That is where I want my time to be.