Respecting Time

What is the one thing in this world that we can't get more of? Time!

I recently had a post on Instagram about respecting people's time. It was more of a Public Service Announcement than a planned post but it garnered a lot of attention, comments, and even several direct messages. Bottom line was, y'all were agreeing with what I had said. I think the incident that caused me to make the post really got under my skin because I have been thinking about time a lot lately. About how short life truly is. I have been making a concerted effort to make each and every day count to the fullest. I have embraced taking better care of myself so that I can be the best version of me each and every day. Making every little thing worthwhile. Not wasting time and regretting it later.

Here's what happened: I had offered my services to another CPA to help her with something she was unfamiliar with. I have never met this woman and I was not going to be paid for this meeting. Nevertheless, I was doing it to help her out and her client. I allowed her to choose the date and time. So, 10:00 on Wednesday morning was the time. It was a gross, cold, and rainy day. I arrived at her office about 9:58. I walked in and told the receptionist who I was there to see, she told me to have a seat, and that she would let her know I was there. I sat there and I sat there (fortunately my hubs had sent me some dog videos to help pass the time). The receptionist never said another word. The person I was supposed to meet never came out to see if I was there. Other people that work there walked through the lobby. Not a single one ever spoke to me. Not a "Good morning" or a "Who are you here to see and I will see if they are ready for you?" Nothing. Crickets. The longer I sat the more irritated I became and at 10:30 I decided I would leave. So, I got up and walked out the door. The receptionist never tried to stop me. I just got in my car and drove home. Almost 15 minutes to drive back home. I had wasted a solid hour of my day.

My PSA on Instagram was about respecting people's time. Everyone's time is valuable and precious. Yes I understand that we all run behind from time to time. We can easily let someone know that as well. When I go to my OB, if she has had a patient go into labor and is tending to them, then I will be told as such. I won't be left in the waiting room with no updates. There are probably some OB's that don't do that but I have always had a great experience when that arises. Bottom line: it's not really hard to respect people's time as long as you don't think your time is more valuable than theirs.

I think the older we get the more we think about time. We regret all the time we've wasted. Whether it was a career we didn't like, long daily commutes, sleeping in too much, prioritizing the wrong people, and the list could go on and on. Being intentional matters in regards to so many aspects of our lives and time management is a huge one. I have always been a planner and I know I am a little over the top when it comes to my schedule. I am one of those that time blocks so I can get everything done. It's a reason I was upset by wasting an hour. I had the thought process of "well I could have gotten X done and not needed to do it Saturday."

Here's the thing, not only do we need to be respectful of other people's time; we need to be respectful of our own. I believe people that respect their own time tend to be more cognizant of time in general and thus respect other's time as well. Being intentional with your time each day of what you want to accomplish, who you want to spend your time with, who you want to do things for, etc makes a difference. We all have errands to run and things we don't love to do (but may need to do) and by planning for it all we are able to utilize our time to the fullest and have less regrets about wasting time.

Do you regularly leave people hanging? Do you regularly waste time having meaningless conversations (mostly gossip)? Do you regularly waste time binge watching shows, even ones you've already seen? Here is what I think about when I am planning how to spend my time each day: if I found out tomorrow that it was my last day on earth, would I be happy with how I spent my time today or would I be regretful? I know that is quite a depressing thought but that is also the point. It is depressing if our answer would be regretful.

Make your time count! Respect other people's time so theirs counts too! We can't make more of it. Therefore, we can't waste a minute of it!