Have you ever taken time to ask yourself what’s really important in your life? Is it your job? Your hobbies? Your social life? Or is it something else? One thing that’s really important for me is self-evaluation.
Sometimes we start going through life on cruise control. We’ve programmed ourselves to do certain things by habit. That can leave the more important things out.
Where You Put Your Time Is What You Hold Important
I know a lot of people who say that God and family are the most important things in their lives. I’m one of them. But sometimes our actions don’t match our words. Some are so busy with work and other projects that family and God wind up much lower on their list.
I’m no exception. That’s why I like to stop and self-evaluate from time to time. Here’s an easy way to figure out what we consider priorities in life. Make a list of how you spend your time. Here’s my list of what I spend the most time doing.
- Taking care of my daughter: This is #1, perhaps by default. I’m a single dad and that requires that the majority of my hours away from work are spent caring for Annie.
- Working as a teacher: I’m a community college teacher. I spend 5-10 hours a day at work. So this is an easy #2.
- Working on writing/blogging: I spend an hour or two working on writing and blogging most days. There are times that I might overload myself in this area, but I’ve learned to balance this with other activities.
- Exercise: I make exercise a daily habit. I only spend 30-60 minutes per day, but I’m very consistent.
- Playing and recording music: I tend to play and write music on a project basis. That means, I might spend 20 hours one week, but then go several weeks doing very little with music.
There’s Something Missing From My List
One thing that separates Hip Diggs from some of the other minimalists sites is that I like to include God as part of my simple-living journey. One reason for clearing clutter from my life is to make more room for God. But based on my self-evaluation exercise, God is not in my top five.
God is a little different. We can focus and meditate on God while we’re doing other activities. I tend to focus on God while I exercise, play music, and right now, as I write this post. That said, I still feel I could make a greater commitment to my spiritual life.
What’s Really Important In Your Life?
I’ve discovered that I’d like to spend more time focusing on God. I’d also like to spend more time reading books. This simple self-evaluation exercise helped me to see what I’m focusing on and what I’m missing.
I encourage you to take a few moments and do your own self-evaluation. Once you get your results, you’ll know what you need to work on.
