Time

This week is spring break. For my kids it is a week off of school with nothing to do. For me, it is just another week. The only advantage is being able to wake up a little later. As we are already halfway through the week, I have looked this morning at how I have utilized my time, not just this week, but lately. Have you ever noticed that the older you get, the faster the days go, and you feel like life is slipping away and you haven’t had time to accomplish everything you really wanted to?

I have decided lately, that one of the biggest detriments to how I use my time, and whether it is used wisely or not, is social media. I don’t spend hours and hours on any device, but I do, especially in the evening, find myself aimlessly scrolling sometimes. Not even really reading anything at all. Sometimes I am not even aware of what is on the screen, I’m just scrolling. Recently I have been focusing on really trying hard not to do that. I find it hardest when I don’t have a lot of time to start a new project, or work on an existing project. That’s when I struggle staying off my phone. Recently I have decided to learn about something productive instead of scroll through social media because, even though it is down time, I can still use it productively.

Even though there is snow on the ground, I have been excited about our garden this year, and growing more of what we eat so we don’t have to rely so heavily on the grocery store. Even though I don’t enjoy gardening as much as I should, mainly because I don’t have a green thumb, I have been watching a lot of YouTube videos about gardening, as well as about how to best store the different varieties of food when they ripen. This has helped me plan out my seed purchases a little bit better and make a better list of what I really want. I have also been relearning about chickens. I’m not sure if I am ready for more chickens yet, but the first time I just jumped in without really knowing how (because that’s how I do most things). I learned a lot but have been learning so much more recently about better designed chicken houses, as well as how to better care for chickens. I have also been learning a lot about greenhouses as I would like to build one this spring, if the building market here in Alaska will hold out a little longer.

As I have learned about these various things, I have stayed off social media. I am still on a device, but utilizing not only the device better, but my time as well. I usually do these things during my down time, as that’s when I seem to waste away my time mindlessly anyway. But I have found it not only relaxing, which is what I am trying to accomplish to some extent anyway, but informative as well. We each need to spend our days wisely. Time is passing, and we can’t get it back. But what we do with the time we have here, the education and knowledge we gain, will go with us into the next life. Memories and knowledge will be the only things we get to take in a lot of respects. I believe that our Heavenly Father will ask us about our time management when we stand before Him, because He gave us a certain amount to do go and learn and grow in, and we will be accountable before Him as to how we used it. What do you do to utilize your time well, especially your down time?