5 More Minutes....!

[Dagger Dias]

"Just 5 more minutes!"

Something I'm sure we have all mumbled at one point or another in our lives when something needs to be done but we would rather keep doing what we are already doing. It could be sleeping when we need to get up, or playing a video game when we need to be doing homework/chores, but it is a common excuse to be lazy and not do what needs to be done. We do not have 5 extra minutes though, which brings me to this thread's topic.

There are only 24 hours in each day and how we spend this time is completely up to us. You can do anything you wish, provided you accept the consequences of it. If you wanted, you could spend today's 8 hour shift at work sleeping at home, if you're ok with losing your job. Or you could go do what you're asked to, if you're ok with getting paid to put up with your clients and supervisors. We all have things we would rather be doing, but just cannot ever seem to find the time to do it. It is not just limited to hobbies, but also working toward achieving long-term goals in life. If we each actually HAD those "few more minutes", how we spend them over a longer timeframe could provide great results.


Assuming that for the next few years you had 5 more minutes each day, how would you spend this newly found extra time, and why? What about if you had an entire hour?

I personally would spend the extra 5 minutes each day by extending the walks I already take. Fitness walking is a good way to stay in shape, plus it would give me a little more time to myself to clear out my thoughts. When you work full-time and are married, you don't get nearly as much "me" time as you did back when you were single. I already give nearly my entire day to my job and my family, other than my days off which I tend to spend on here. I love my wife and my puppies more than anything, but anyone who's ever been married can tell you that "me" time becomes sacred and something we all need from time to time. So, I would spend my 5 extra minutes by taking an even longer walk each day than I already do since it would give me the time to reflect that I need daily.

As for gaining an entire hour each day? I would work each day toward learning new video game software skills. Lately I have been thinking a lot about going back to school at a local technical college to get full training in that area. If that ends up not being an option, I can still find better software, learn how to use it, and make massive improvements onto my video game. If I dedicated the newly found hour to that each day for a year or so, it could produce great results, because then I'd have better knowledge and been able to give my game the update that it desperately needs. I just haven't had the time.

So how about the rest of you? Discuss!

 

[Mustang Sally]

.... but it is a common excuse to be lazy and not do what needs to be done.

Yes, there's that. If people had that extra five minutes, I think most would spend it in an inert fashion; as a reason to not do anything productive. It reminds me of a conversation I had with a bank manager. His local branch had been open from 9AM-3PM since the bank first opened it doors. There were a group of customers who would arrive at 2 minutes before 3PM each day and keep the tellers working well past closing time. The bank decided to extend their hours to 4PM......and you can probably guess what happened: those same customers immediately started arriving at 2 minutes to 4PM! Nothing was gained by the bank's move; it simply gave people another hour to put off things that had to be done. This is also what I think would happen if we suddenly had extra time in our day.

For myself, I'm with the OP; I would spend the "extra" time outdoors, walking, exercising or just sitting in a chair, but making it a point to get myself outside so as not to spend even more time cooped up indoors.

Getting fresh air is so important, yet often sacrificed in our busy days. If 5 extra minutes suddenly appeared, I'd make it part of my routine to enjoy the great outdoors, even if it involved freezing my ass off.

 

[LilacFray]

Assuming that for the next few years you had 5 more minutes each day, how would you spend this newly found extra time, and why?
What about if you had an entire hour?

Read. It's what I love doing yet I just don't find myself with a book, reading my heart out anymore. My daily routine is nothing too healthy. I come home at around 04:30 PM. Have a shower and maybe have lunch. By the time I sit down to finish off the loads of schoolwork I get, it's about 05:30. Once I get done with them, I go online and hang around for sometime. I then have dinner while watching TV with my Mum since I feel bad for not spending much time with her. Then I go to sleep as early as possible so that I can wake up at 05:00 AM in the morning the next day to go through it all over again. The only time I get to read is in the bus on my way to school and back home. Wish I could do it more often.

So with my extra hour that I get each day, I'd love to have my reading time in the bus extended in some way. That would be great. :3 But... Only if the extra hour also prevented talkative friends from sitting beside me.

 

[Loveless]

Assuming that for the next few years you had 5 more minutes each day, how would you spend this newly found extra time, and why? What about if you had an entire hour?

5 minutes wouldn't even register with me but I'd probably just go and have a coffee and sit down.
Most of my time right now is split between my family, my girlfriend and a friend who is ill. As much as I love them all, with an extra hour I'd probably just take some time to myself. I've been trying to play a game all week but I've not had a moments peace. It's about the time I'm typing this that I'm realising I could be at home doing exactly that.

 

[LSN80]

Spend it on myself. Specifically, taking care of myself physically.

Does that sound selfish? Sure. But I spend my time between my wife, newborn daughter, and work, which is incredibly time consuming. I know, it's part of being an adult, part of life, and I accept that. But it's not as if it wouldn't be nice to have that time to myself, whether it be to exercise, play basketball, read, or even sleep. I don't get to do any of the above very much these days, and my stress level has risen exponentially because of it. I used to exercise 4-5 days a week, but in the last 6 months, 1 day a week is a miracle. Any advice, folks?

Perhaps I need to be better at time management, which has never been one of my strong suits. Which begs the reasoning that even with an extra hour, Id still find that I have little to no time simply for myself, because Id procrastinate and what not with the things I have to do. And don't get me wrong, I enjoy my work, and my life with my family. But I'd be lying to myself and others if I didn't acknowledge that even though it's a joy, it's also a taxing, tiring one. So perhaps that extra hour would lead to a less stressed, more focused me. I sure wouldn't mind the opportunity to try!

 

[Fugazi]

no but really if i was given an extra 5 minutes every day I would add those 5 minutes to my morning run. I often cut my run short because of other crap I have to do and it always seems to upset me. 5 more minutes would be great since it takes so long to actually work up a sweat.

 

[JWGunslinger]

For both the five minutes and the hour I would spend more time helping others in any way possible and spending time with my family. Nothing makes me happier than these two things, if I dont do something helpful for someone for too long it upsets me, I like being able to see someone with a problem and jump in to fix it because it's a great feeling. If I had more time in the day I would be able to be more productive and in turn help brighten more people's days. Then ofcourse spending more quality time with my family is a no brainer, they're the best thing in life and spending time with them always makes me happy.