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Taking Control of Time

2022.01.10
When I was younger, I didn’t think too much about time. For me, the day-to-day activities were enough, and often I found them pretty boring. I get up, have breakfast, walk to the bus stop, go to school, and then endure high school. I was a quiet student who didn’t always fit in very well, and was ready to move on from the drama of high school. 

Not surprisingly, when I got to college I still had drama. This time the question wasn’t so much me living with a schedule decided for me in high school, but the drama of choosing my own time. That was a difficult moment for me. I hadn’t had any previous members of my family who graduated from college, and I didn’t just want to do exactly the same thing as the person to my left or right. I wanted to understand what I wanted to do. 

Because I wasn’t so sure at first, I slowly decided just to set achievable goals. First it was simply to get through the day, then get through the next day, then get through week, and just keep adding to that. Eventually that led to a semester, which was the biggest hurdle I faced. After that, I had a sense that I could do it, but I knew there was more to do. 

In many ways, how I try to control time hasn’t changed so much since then. While it may not be from the same crazy feeling I had to just survive back then, now I have a better idea of what I can handle and what my priorities are. Focusing my time on what I can manage helped me to not lose sight of why I was doing everything in the first place. The times I felt the least in control were when I doubted myself. Even in mistakes where I chose self-doubt, I had something to learn from. 

Everyone’s path is not going to lead them to the same place. It can be easy just to look at the people to your left or right, and then just go along with what they’re doing. However, maybe they’re making the same uncertain choices you are. Sometimes that’s a good thing: you can have an experience that draws you closer to another, sharing in success or failure, and understanding life together. Even still, at the end of the day, when you’re alone in bed, it’ll still just be you answering the question, “how am I doing today?”

Years later, as someone who is married and with young children, that hasn’t changed. The choices I make, the way I act, how I talk to strangers or loved ones - they all boil down to how I feel about my time. Does it control me, or do I control it? The best time to decide is now.

Photo Credit stazknop@pexels.com 


Quiz

Q1. How would you describe the writer's feelings about high school? 

Q2. What helped the writer in handling time in college? 

Q3. What does the writer think is the benefit of making choices with others? 


Scroll down ? for the answers


































A1. He was ready to graduate.

A2. Setting achievable goals.

A3. You can share experiences together and better understand life.

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