“Time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” ~Theophrastus

Don’t we all wish we had more time? Time to spend with loved ones. Time to finish solving a problem. Time to eat, pray, love. Time to exercise more. Time to travel to all the continents on the globe.

Time to finish that project. Time to take that diving course, yoga class, or self-improvement seminar. Time to chat with our grandparents. Time to visit an old friend.

Time to aid the poor. Time to listen to the news. Time to challenge yourself. Time to meditate. Time to do volunteer work. Time to listen to a friend in need. Time to have dinner with your partner. Time to have dinner with your family.

Time to be adventurous, time to parachute, time to pray and to play, time to listen within, time to cook wholesome meals, time to do nothing, and time to do everything.

Time to feel what you really feel. Time to dream and time to be.

I know I’ve spent a lot of time doing the wrong things and making mistakes. But even so, I’ve learned something from all of it. That in itself means it wasn’t so wrong after all.

I also spent a lot of time thinking of what little time I had and how I wished I had more. Not so good if all it does is stress you out.

However, if it compels you to take charge and make a plan for how to reach all those wonderful dreams and goals, then it’s a good thing. I’m getting there, falling and getting up again. “Losing” time along the way.

I read this analogy about time once. Imagine there is a bank that every morning deposits $86,400 into your account. And every day it happens over and over again. The only catch, according to this idea, is that you cannot save that particular deposit until the next day.

The $86,400 you get in the morning is gone in the evening. You can’t use any of it in advance and you can’t pile it up.

What would you do? Would you think carefully about how you’d use it every day?

The thing is, we all have this account available to us—except it’s time we get to use. We all have 86,400 seconds to spend every day, and at the end of the day, they’re gone.

Does the thought stress you out? Can you see the seconds blipping away? Well, the seconds will blip away. You cannot hold on to them, but you can use them wisely. And by “wisely,” I am not talking about producing stuff. Well, at least not all the time.

But perhaps you can change how you look at your life when you see it in seconds. Think about having this account with a limited time deposit every day. Does it make you think of living differently?

You can’t live in the future; you can’t live in the past. You live in the present. Using the seconds available to you right now.

Yes, living now involves some sort of planning ahead. But the secret is to invest your time smartly so that you get the best possible return in terms of health, happiness, and success.

How you do this is up to you. Here are some of the things you could do:

Plan and organize to create what you want and need.

If you want to lie in bed, make sure that is what you really want and not just something that happened.

Look after yourself, whether it’d be by exercising, eating healthy, meditating, practicing yoga, having fun, or all of the above.

Spend time with people who matter to you who build you up.

When you have meetings at work that seem pointless, see if you can make them more effective or more meaningful.

If you are in a job that doesn’t make you feel warm and fuzzy—a job that doesn’t sing to you, that isn’t your dream job—see if you can take some steps getting closer to your dream. Start now!

In the meantime, focus on how you can positively affect co-workers, clients, and the people you meet.

Find magic on your way to work or in your lunch break.

Stop dwelling on the past; now, this is really a waste of time. Yes, learning from our past is a good thing, but not dwelling.

Become friends with the things that scare you. Invite the fearful moments and see how the scary stuff disappears, or you realize they weren’t that scary in the first place.

Stop stressing or trying to be perfect all the time.

Be you.

Be.

Think about the seconds every morning when you wake up and ask yourself: How will I use my time assets today?

Time passes.

Use your account wisely.

Use it according to what’s important to you.

Photo by aussiegal

About Pernilla Hjort Pernilla Hjort is a writer, blogger, psychic reader, healer, social media addict, educator, entrepreneur, singer, yogalicious web queen who loves to inspire, create, meditate, read books, and ski. Proud mama of Viggo, Vera, and Vanda. Excited Co-runner of Soultribe. Visit www.pernillahjort.com and follow @pernillahjort.