Quality Time....

I hear a lot of people talking about quality time these days.  We all have the same 24 hours in a day and the same 7 days in a week.  So, that adds up to 168 hours in the week. 
What does spending quality time with someone mean to you?  What does it mean to a relationship?  What does it mean for our kids and families?  What does it mean to our career world?

The definition of quality is a characteristic element or attribute or a degree of excellence of a thing.
What does quality mean to you?  Is it a trait?  Is it goodness?  Is it a grade or rank to you?  When does quality enter into your world?

Now add the time frame.  What is quality time?  A hour a day?  A week?  A month?  Spending hours on end on a specific project?  Spending quality time with a loved one or a person whom you enjoy their company?  Spending overtime at work so that you can get that promotion?

What is on your calendar?  Who is on your calendar?  What ranks highest in your world?  And, how do you define that?

It is all about priorities. It is all about our choices.  When do you decide to spend more time with your kids or family instead of working overtime?  When do you choose to take extra time with someone you love?  How do you know when you are spending enough time to build a relationship that lasts?
What consumes your calendar?  Who consumes your calendar?  Are there adjustments that need to be made to prioritize something important to you?

Since we all have the same amount of time in a day and/or a week, how do we determine where to spend the most time?  How do we prioritize the things that matter most?  How do we arrange items in an order of importance where we are not feeling tugged here and there?  How do we stop the pushing and pulling on our emotional strings so that we feel we can breathe again?

It all gets down to getting clear in our head about what is most important and what is most urgent.  Some things must take a priority for a period of time.  Other things can be put on the back burner for a brief amount of time.  How can we possibly make our world sane?  And, how do we show those we love how much they mean to us? 

Try this little exercise.  Write down these titles on a piece of paper with four quadrants:
Most Important/Most Urgent
Least Important/Least Urgent

Give yourself space for each quadrant and start to name the priorities in your life.
Define for yourself, your kids, your spouse (or significant other), your boss or whomever you feel you need to prioritize specific items within your day or week and see what comes up. 

Define for yourself what you need.  How much time is enough?  When you become clear about your own needs, wants, and priorities, they will become clear in your life - In your families, in your relationships, in your work and thus, in your world.  Some things that you spent your time on before used to be enough for you.  Now, you need or want more time for such and such.  Ask specifically, how much time do I want for this or that in my life?  Choices.  We all have to make them.  When we define those choices, we will increase our quality time with whatever our priorities are and our world will become a much more pleasant place to be!!!