Health and time – takeaways at the end.
When you’re young, there’s a tendency to believe you’ll live forever. I believed my health and time would continue endlessly no matter what I did, so I treated my body and time accordingly. I don’t consider myself old but I’m beginning to notice some changes and as a father and husband with a responsible position at work, my perspective on health and time is shifting.
Here is a summary of the changes:
Lines
Lines are beginning to appear on my forehead. I don’t know how much of this is normal ageing, but I feel like years of depression and stress and a lot of frowning have taken their toll. I was initially a little unhappy about it but I’ve accepted I can’t change them. They now serve as a reminder to squeeze as much joy out of life as I can.
Skin
My skin is taking longer to heal. In the past when I went to the beach, I’d be topless the whole time with the occasional application of sun cream. I might get a bit burnt but usually, this lasted a day or two. However, I recently had a holiday with family to a beach town. The UV was intense and even with sun cream I got badly burnt. My skin peeled for about two weeks, and weeks later the most severe areas still feel a bit rough. I also have a whole load of extra freckles concentrated in the previously burnt areas. I was worried I’d done some permanent damage. The freckles remain but the skin is basically back to normal thankfully. I’ve since bought long-sleeve UV swimming clothes which I use every time.
Covid
I recently had Covid for the first time. It started with throat ulcers, then loss of taste for a day then loss of smell for a day, diarrhoea and intense brain fog. The symptoms lasted for around a month combined. Compared to friends of a similar age, this seems to be around double the time. We’ve all had at least three vaccinations. This made me concerned it might be long-Covid. Thankfully I’ve fully recovered now and it’s taught me to value my health more.
Eyes
I’m finding that hours every day spent at a computer screen and occasionally not getting sufficient sleep is making my eyes very tired. I used to be able to use a computer for a whole day and for days straight with no issues. Now I need to take my contact lenses out when I get home and avoid devices. Avoiding devices is also good for family time and relaxation. I also nap whenever I can and try to keep a sleep routine.
Sleep
One late night can wipe me out for days. It seems to have a knock-on effect. If I don’t have a nap the next day and a few early nights the next few nights, it takes me longer and longer to recover. This sets me up for a low-energy week. This is one reason I don’t drink or party anymore. I need to be productive with the time I have.
If I wake and get up at 5.30 am, I’ve found that to function optimally I need to be in bed by 9 pm and asleep shortly after that. Anything out of this pattern knocks me out of sync.
Self-directed time
I used to be happy to just lie around in bed watching TV, movies or playing computer games but now I’m aware of what little time I have to spend with family and work on my goals and dreams, I can no longer afford to do this (as much as I want to!)
If you work for someone else you follow their rules and expectations. There may be a little freedom within that scope but ultimately, you’re working toward someone else’s goals and this time belongs ultimately to your boss.
This means the limited time outside of work needs to be maximized. This means getting efficient at chores and allocating time for specific purposes. When I’m at work I’m at work. When I’m with family, I’m with family. When I’m working on one of my goals I’m working on that goal.
I realized this year that it’s not efficient to work on all goals at the same time. One of my goals is time-sensitive so has taken priority over others. It’s hard to enjoy the process when you’re over-stretching because you want everything now. Enjoying the process is one of the keys to lasting fulfillment.
Another lesson is that you don’t find time, you make time! In many cases, I wouldn’t have time to work on my goals if I didn’t get up before everyone else but this has to be balanced with quality sleep to be effective. If I am successful in my goals, I will eventually buy my time and freedom. I just need to keep chipping away at it. 20-30 minutes here or there can add up to be very productive in the long run, just like compound interest. The key is to already have sections or small tasks ready for these purposes. This is what I’ve been doing over the past five months. If you always wait for a 2-hour chunk and/or the motivation you may never start.
With all that said though, family is number one, so if there’s an opportunity to spend more time with them, I choose this first in most cases, especially as our child is so young and growing up so fast! It’s important to know your values.
Takeaways
- Squeeze joy out of life
- Look after your skin, eyes and body now
- Value the health you have now
- Get plenty of rest, naps and sleep
- Guard and allocate your time
- Be present for each situation (when you’re at work, be at work; when you’re with family, be with family)
- Make time for what’s important to you
- Work on one goal at a time
- Enjoy thejourney – enjoy the process over the result
- Get up before everyone else and work on your goal
- Know your values
- If I want my child to learn these lessons early, I need to model that behaviour
- Now is the best time, the only time
- Your time and health won’t last forever – we don’t know how many tomorrows we have
- Be grateful for the good things you have in your life. Every day.
Does any of this resonate with you?
thejourneyx 