Time Management for Meditation

OVERWHELMED SELF: “I do not have time for Meditation at all. I am very busy with my current responsibilities. I wish I had more time for myself. My job takes up all my time. I have so many things to do. I have long commute to work each day. I miss my deadlines if I don't work really hard. I am overwhelmed all the time. At times, I take on too much work load. I am afraid that if I refuse any task I will lose my job or suffer losses in my business. Sometimes I wish I had an assistant to help me. I have family responsibilities to handle. From where will I get time to Meditate?”

Yes, we all have several goals and our day-to-day tasks keeps us very busy. Sometimes we really wish we could just take a week-long vacation at our favorite holiday spot. With our rapid growing technology and ever increasing awareness of what we can accomplish, we simply find it difficult to create time for ourselves. So how can we feel that we are in control of our time? How can we feel that we have plenty of time to do the things we love to do? How can we increase our productivity and achieve our goals faster? And how can we reach to a point we never have to say that we do not have time for ourselves and for Meditation?

We have to learn few things:
(1) To estimate accurately how much time a specific task will take
(2) To learn how to say ‘NO’ to requests or tasks that are not in our best interest and are insignificant
(3) To learn how to say ‘YES” to requests and opportunities that are important and will help us achieve our spiritual fulfillment and our goals
(4) To learn to delegate tasks to others so that we are not struggling with our projects

This requires practice and takes self discipline. When estimating how much time a specific task will take always add 25% extra buffer to the timeline, because life throws us obstacles and hurdles that we may not be able to anticipate. For some of us it is very difficult to say ‘NO’ to our boss or someone in authority or someone we care about. So we have to practice beforehand. “I am learning to be more efficient with my time. At this moment I am unable to fulfill your request since I have allocated all my time to other tasks. Thank you for your kind understanding.” After our practice sessions we are more prepared and ready to deliver our message. Learning to say ‘YES’ to important opportunities can be equally tough. So similarly we have to practice beforehand. “I am very interested in learning how to increase my productivity. You have years of experience in this area. It would be great if you can give me some advice on how I can improve my performance.” As we practice eliminating meaningless activities from our lives and filling it with more meaningful activities we will be getting one step closer to spiritual fulfillment and achieving our life goals.

HIGHER SELF: “I am in complete control of my schedule. I know how to make time for tasks that are important or urgent. I have plenty of time for myself and my loved ones. I work limited hours and reach my financial goals easily. My work place is very near to my house. We go for vacations several times a year. I complete all my tasks very quickly and before the deadlines. I know how to delegate tasks to others. I choose to accept only those requests from others that are in my best interest. I can easily decline requests that cause me to become stressful. I am not shy of asking others for help and guidance. I do not waste my time on meaningless activities. I can easily estimate the amount of time it will take me to complete a specific task. I respect everyone’s time and promptly and clearly communicate any changes in our appointments. I only focus on being efficient and productive. My relationship with Time Management is very strong and works perfectly. I can easily find time for my Daily Meditation Practice.”

We Love Meditation... :-)