Make Time Mean More

I think we’ve all pondered the question: What would I do if I had an extra hour in the day? 

Heck, I’d take an extra ten minutes to read a good book. Or I might search for a new recipe. Or phone a friend. Paint a lovely picture of my garden roses. Reply to a listener email. Tell my kids a wild bedtime story….

Technology has provided so many good things to give us more time in our day – we communicate faster, we cook faster, we drive faster, we clean faster, we work faster – so why spend your free time texting, gaming, or watching television rather than kicking a soccer ball with your kids?

A listener named Amy wrote to me once to tell me about a little experiment she’d done in her home. For one night every week, no matter how much her three children begged, the television and all phones and gadgets would remain off. 

Brilliant!

After much whining, everyone agreed to it. Amy said her home had never felt so peaceful. No commercials or cartoons blaring in the background! She said her kids got so “bored” they decided to do their homework without a fight. lol 

What she didn’t expect was how easy her kids woke up the next morning for school.

The next week on no-TV night, the family went out to dinner and they all took their time talking and eating, not feeling rushed to get home to electronic entertainment. She said her kids exploded with information that night: Her oldest daughter’s first junior high dance was coming up. Her middle son wanted to join a baseball team, and her youngest son had a crush! 

All things Amy may not have been able to pull out of her kids had they been occupied by media.

As you go into the weekend, think on ways you can spend more quality time with the ones you love. The key is this: If you can’t make more time with them, at least make the time you have mean more.