What Are Your Priorities?

“All I want is more hours in a day.” How many times have you thought that yourself or heard it from a co-worker, family member or friend? It’s a concept that most of us think on a fairly regular basis. We daydream about what we would do or what we would accomplish, if we just had more time. We grumble that our time is “taken up” by everything and everyone else it seems, leaving us with no time for ourselves. True, the minutes and hours in a day are finite. The ways that we choose how to fill those moments – and they are choices – can have a huge impact. Is it time to think about what are your priorities?

Our society places a places a high value on being busy. Our culture of accepting, almost encouraging someone who grinds through a 50 or 60 hour work week should be a concern to all of us. You almost never hear someone being praised for working “only” a 40 hour week or for not checking work emails on the weekend. The physical and mental stress that results from an imbalance of work and personal life can be dangerous.

The tools and inventions that make our lives easier are abundant, yet we still seem to never have enough time.  It no longer takes us hours to wash a batch of clothes like it took our families a few generations ago. A push of a few buttons or a drop off at a laundry service and it’s done. Or take a look at the way we travel. We can get on a plane and be in another city or country in a matter of hours, instead of days, weeks or months of travel like in the past. Meal preparation is measured in minutes rather than hours now. 

Now the fact is that the inventions and progress in our societies are great things. They allow us to live longer and healthier lives in many ways. We have options and opportunities like never before. We have the ability to fit more things into our daily lives and to live our lives physically easier and with less risk than our forebears had to. There is a freedom of time-saving devices that gives us choices. Choices that we make every day.

What do we do with that liberated time, those hours that we never had before? We fill them of course, and how we fill them is up to each of us. Yes, we have obligations and demands on our time and necessities that must be attended to. But, remember that each of us is responsible for how those obligations got on our schedules in the first place; and in order to find out how, the question we really need to be asking ourselves is WHY.

The Choices We Make Matter

I used to work with clients, personal training and life coaching. The single most cited reason for not being able to make the sought after changes or to live a happier, more successful life was a lack of time. Followed closely by a lack of energy; not surprising considering how much each of us are doing in a day! A day has 24 hours though – and that will never change – so it takes a harsh look at how we fill those hours to see what is important.

How do we make sure that the things that are important to us don’t get pushed out? Why do the things that we say mean so much to us, fall off the schedule or get constantly pushed from the to-do list? The simple answer is because we don’t make those things a priority and choose them. It may be simple, but it’s not easy.

Take the time to sit down and make a list of what is important to you. Is it more time to spend on a hobby, learning a skill for pure personal enjoyment (and not job oriented), reading the books that are stacked on the bedside table, hiking, writing, or being with your family or friends to just hang out and do “nothing”? The only way to find out what matters is to put some thought to it, something that we tend to not do.

So you have a list of priorities, now what? Now it’s time for you to take a look at how you live your life, now, and how it needs to change to be able to fit those priorities in where they belong.

Be honest and brutal with what is stopping you from filling your time with what you want to be doing. It may be as simple as putting some attention to this and making a little tweak here or there, or it may be a harder awareness that bigger changes are needed. Small changes, big life path alterations or somewhere in the middle, it’s not going to happen without putting in the time to be aware and make changes.

Time that is yours to use how you want.

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Winter Fun and Your Safety

The winter months are here! It’s that time of year when some of us nest and hibernate and others look longingly outside anticipating the rush of winter activities that are finally ours to enjoy. If you fall into the latter category there is an abundance of options to fill the upcoming months with active living! If you are one of the hibernating, blanket-wrapped varieties, why not make this year the one that you get out and try something new!

While you search for fun and relaxation to enjoy the winter snows and chills though, remember to keep yourself safe while you explore. Here are a few things to keep in mind:

The Best Laid Plans

One of the most basic, and often overlooked, safeguards is to make sure that someone knows your plans. Whether you are heading out for a few hours, a day or an extended overnight trip, leave your activity plan information with someone who will check up to make sure that you’re back safely when you plan to be. Even if you are going with a travel partner, someone back home needs to know where you went and when you’ll be expected back – and don’t stray from the plan! As tempting as that off path trail may look, stick to your plan. Tuck that new and exciting place away for another trip out.

Be Prepared

Not just a old Scouting motto but great advice. Make sure that you are dressed appropriately for the activity that you have planned. That may mean layers that you can take off or put on as needed. Winter sports mean cold temperatures and seating bodies which need special care to avoid both overheating and hypothermia as possibilities. Have enough water with you for extended times of active exertion. You need just as much hydration during winter sports as you do in the warmer weather. Know what you need to be safe and make sure you have it with you; wet weather resistant gear, headlamps or flashlights (darkness comes on early and quickly in the winter months!), snacks, water and communication tools (flares, mirrors for flashing – remember that many areas we love to explore do not have cell service) are some ideas to keep in mind.

Know Your Limits

Knowing your level of experience – and respecting it – is important in order to be safe and have fun. Have you always wanted to try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing? Those are two of the top activities in the winter that catch people off guard with abilities and reality. Just because something looks easy doesn’t mean it is. The technique and endurance necessary for both of these activities in particular are very often underestimated.
Local ski hills and resorts have packages and instruction times available to help you learn the basics of those sports that you have always wanted to give a try. Expert instruction and advice will go a long way to making certain that you have a solid foundation to build on for years of fun to come.

Know Your Surroundings

Take some time before you head out to get acquainted with where you will be going. What are the risks and how can you reduce your exposure to them? There are great sites for tracking avalanche risk areas, information on weather patterns and even ice level safety for lake skating. Check out the local resource sites in your area and plan accordingly.

 

The winter months offer so many unique and amazing opportunities for outdoor adventure. Especially here in BC, the abundance of natural space feels limitless! Make this winter your time to try something new and fun – just be safe doing it!

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