How Changing Your Use of Limited Time Can Change Your Life | Common Traits of Fulfilled People

"I had an unexpected problem today, and before I knew it, the day was over..."
"It's my day off, but I spent it lounging around and now it's already evening..."
Have you ever felt this way?

As I have been thinking about asset building and money, I realized once again that
"Time might be more important than money."That is what I concluded.

In this article,
I will explain based on my own experience
how you can spend your days more fully
regarding this "use of time."

First, face the fact that human time is limited.

First, as a major premise,
it goes without saying, but everyone's time is equal.

Even for successful people like Elon Musk or Warren Buffett,
or for salarymen like us, a day only has 24 hours.

This is a fact that absolutely cannot be changed.

And,
when you perform necessary tasks like sleeping, eating, bathing to live healthily,
plus using the restroom, getting dressed, brushing your teeth...
I think the time you can actually spend on something else
is only about half of the day.

The quality of your life changes significantly
depending on how you use this limited time.

Just by thinking about time like this,
I was able to realize the importance of daily life again, thinking, "Oh, if I don't spend every day properly, life will pass by in the blink of an eye."

Even if you think you are busy or have no time,
whether you can end your day with satisfaction is essentially
a matter of "how you use your time and your priorities."That is almost always the case.

There is a limit to what you can do in a day; you need the "determination to let go."

What is important when thinking about how to use your day
is "what not to do" rather than "what to do."

Perhaps many of you have already turned your daily activities
into a routine, haven't you?

For example,

• Time spent mindlessly watching YouTube or social media on your smartphone

• Time spent lounging around without any purpose

• Endlessly scrolling through online shopping sites without any intention to buy

• Participating in unnecessary drinking parties out of inertia

Habits and routines that you fall into at random moments,
it seems like these have inevitably become part of your state.

Unless you review these things,
no matter how many "things you want to do" you have,
you will never find the time to execute them.

That is precisely why,
deciding what not to do
is, in my opinion,
the most important mindset for managing your time.

Before I started writing on note, I myself
would spend all day watching the same kind of YouTube videos, feeling unproductive,
yet I would just drift through every day without changing anything.

However,
once I decided, "I will only watch 30 minutes of YouTube,
and no more!" I developed a sense of wanting to make effective use of my free time,
and my daily sense of fulfillment began to change.

I don't think you need to quit everything cold turkey.
I personally kept 30 minutes as my own enjoyment time to watch YouTube,
and only reviewed how I spent the time I was wasting or spending aimlessly.

In short, I believe that whether or not you can make your days fulfilling comes down to having a good balance.

Accepting initial hardship to secure time in the future

Another important thing is
to "accept the initial struggle, even if it takes time."

It is the same with work;
at first, there is a lot to learn and it takes time.

When I was a new employee,
I couldn't keep up unless I studied even after I got home.

Honestly, it was quite tough.
But thanks to that experience, knowledge accumulated, skills were polished,
and my work speed increased dramatically.
I'm sure many of you have had similar experiences, haven't you?

This note I am posting on is the same.
When I didn't know what I was doing, it took 3 to 4 hours to post one article,
but now, by making good use of AI, I can get it into shape in about an hour and a half.

By viewing the time spent struggling at the beginning as an investment,
your future self will have a much easier time.

I have come to believe that having this perspective
on everything is very important.

Therefore,
"Taking the long way around is actually a shortcut, because if you experience hardship, things will be easier later,"
is the spirit with which I try to do everything with all my might at the start.

I recommend that even for tasks where you think, 'I've never done this before, so it will take time...'
you try tackling them with the belief that it will make things easier in the future!

How can you use your time efficiently?

So, you know the importance of finite time,
you've decided what not to do, and you're investing time in the struggle for the sake of the future.
I understand that, but how should I actually use my time efficiently?

What was most effective for me was
setting priorities and a schedule.

Since it is a tedious task,
I think many people don't do it.
I used to act haphazardly as well.

As a result,

• if I decided what to do on the spot, wondering what to start with first, I wouldn't finish important work and would end up working overtime

• It took much longer than I thought, and I only finished one thing I needed to do.

• I feel like I did a lot of things, but I can't look back on them, so the day ends without any sense of accomplishment.

That was the state I was in.

Now, before I start work on Monday, I create a 'to-do list with priorities for that day (or week).'

I keep it really simple, writing down 'tasks, difficulty, deadlines, and whether advance preparation is needed (red text means handle ASAP),' and then I treat it like a puzzle to figure out the order.
I sometimes change things midway depending on how I feel like working at that moment.

As the 'Done' items increase, I get a sense of satisfaction knowing, 'I managed to get this much done today.'

Also, by finishing high-priority tasks, I've started to accept that the rest can wait until tomorrow, which has helped me reduce overtime.

For me, this was the optimal solution I arrived at after trial and error, focusing on how to create a simplified list without burning out and still avoiding mistakes.
I think it's best to

explore a method that you can continue to sustain.

Outside of work, for example, my wife plans our trips, and she always makes a solid schedule beforehand about where we'll go and what we'll do once we arrive.
I think spontaneous, unplanned trips aren't bad either, but by making a schedule, we can make the most of our day, and honestly, the sense of satisfaction after the trip is quite different!

Don't manage time too tightly; leave some 'white space'

Another important thing is to 'intentionally create white space' even when you're busy.

If you pack your schedule too full, everything falls apart the moment a problem arises.

When I was managing my schedule tightly without any white space, I would find myself wanting to blame others, thinking, 'Why are you coming to me now?!'
I would lose sight of those around me, saying things like, 'I can't deal with this right now,' and in my case, both my mental state and the quality of my work would drop.

Having white space to respond flexibly has the effect of calming my mind.

Also, if no problems occur and you have that white space left over, you can use it effectively to increase what you're capable of doing, which can lead to

a compound effect where time creates more time in the future!

If you have the awareness to cherish each day, I think you'll be able to experiment with your daily schedule to figure out how to make every day fulfilling.

Summary

In the past, when I spent my days lazily without any productivity, my days felt gloomy and my heart never felt clear.

Since then, I've decided what not to do and have become conscious of cherishing each day, and as a result, I now have the motivation to gradually take on various challenges.

Depending on how you use your time, your future can be either dark or bright.

If there is even a small part of your daily life that bothers you,
let's find a way to spend your time that leaves you feeling fulfilled!

Thank you for reading until the end.
I hope this article is even a little bit helpful for your life.

If you feel even a little bit like reconsidering how you spend your time,
it would encourage me if you could share your thoughts through a like, follow, or comment.