The 100 Years Club Installment #51: 5 Ways to Beat Father Time

I’m not sure why Time has a father and Nature has a mother.

But let’s forget that for a while. A short while, because time has a value.

And we often waste a lot of it.

You may spend time doom scrolling, watching randos dance on TikTok, or complaining about things we can’t control (which can be therapeutic for a few minutes, but whining without resolution is generally a time-waster).

I’m not denying that I sometimes do things that have no clear intellectual or social value (like watching reality TV to relax).

But, especially as we age, we can try to have more respect for every minute of the day — whether it’s spent on self-care, helping others, making money, or laying the groundwork for something in the future.

Not to mention getting quality sleep and eating well.

Some ways we can manage time so that we can squeeze as much as possible into a lifetime are:

1. Decide what’s REALLY important to you, what you can control, and what’s a crapshoot.
2. Create a vision board for the year and goals for each month. You can see my own boards below. Be realistic in terms of what you can accomplish.
3. Time-block. See below for how you do it. Use one of the apps (below) to see where your time is currently going — at work or in life.
4. Be flexible and spontaneous. You can plan all you want, but stuff happens in life.  As in business, when life doesn’t happen as you imagined, just “re-forecast” or simply go with the flow.
5. Don’t hesitate to walk away from situations or people that are not in keeping with your goals or schedule. This applies to both business and personal activities. The whole “one door closes and another opens” has held true for me most of the time. You can do this politely. See the links below.

But keep in mind that we all need downtime (which I often call sloth time) to ruminate, relax, stare at the ceiling, float in a pool, or otherwise empty our brains for a while.

So, start 2024 off with:

• Time well planned and used
• Good times
• Time to breathe

Because the one thing I can definitively say for the new year is that you can’t make more time, but you can decide how to spend it!

Happy New Year!

	How to make a vision board (and other woo-woo strategies for success) How to time block Use apps to track your time
	How to gracefully end conversations.  How to fire a client the right way. How to end a friendship without animosity.
	“Busy is the new stupid.” Biggest time wasters
	How much sleep do we need? Ways to relax during waking hours 21 songs about time

Full year