Life as Juggling

I found this text on line and I loved it. Since so many of us have problems with time management I thought some of you may enjoy reading this.



Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air.
You name them Work, Family, Health, Friends, Spirit, and you're keeping them all in the air.
You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. But the other four balls -- family, health, friends, and spirit -- are made of glass.
If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked, damaged or even shattered. They will never be the same.
You must understand that and strive for balance in your life. How?
1. Don't undermine your worth by comparing yourself with others. It is because we are different that each of us is special.
2. Don't set your goals by what other people deem important. Only you know what is best for you.
3. Don't take for granted the things closest to your heart. Cling to them as you would your life, for without them, life is meaningless.
4. Don't let your life slip through your fingers by living in the past or for the future. By living your life one day at a time, you live ALL the days of your life.
5. Don't give up when you still have something to give. Nothing is really over until the moment you stop trying.
6. Don't be afraid to admit that you are less than perfect. It is this fragile thread that binds us together.
7. Don't be afraid to encounter risks. It is by taking chances that we learn how to be brave.
8. Don't shut love out of your life by saying it's impossible to find. The quickest way to receive love is to give; the fastest way to lose love is to hold it too tightly; and the best way to keep love is to give it wings.
9. Don't run through life so fast that you forget not only where you've been, but also where you are going.
10. Don't forget that a person's greatest emotional need is to feel appreciated.
11. Don't be afraid to learn. Knowledge is weightless, a treasure you can always carry easily.
12. Don’t use time or words carelessly. Neither can be retrieved.
Life is not a race, but a journey to be savored each step of the way.
Yesterday is History, Tomorrow is a Mystery, and Today is a gift. That's why we call it "The Present."
[This is said to have been written by Brian G. Dyson, the CEO of Coca-Cola, and given as a commencement address at Georgia Tech.]

My morning rush.

I’ve always been quite good at managing most aspects of my life. I think that I am really good at managing my finances; I don’t make impulsive purchases and I always pay my credit card bills on time. This past semester I learned how to maintain balance between the time required for completing my school and work activities. I took too many classes and was so overworked that I didn’t really know what was going on around me. Luckily, I was able to finish the semester without sacrificing my grades. After having that experience I realized that it doesn’t make any sense to take more classes that I can handle. However, like everyone else, I have a very annoying management problem – I just have no idea how to manage my time in the morning before I leave for work.
It just seems to me that in the morning time passes by twice as fast as it does at other times of the day. Too many times I end up rushing myself to leave on time and running to catch my train. I usually give myself an hour to get ready to work (I wake up at 6 AM and leave my apartment at 7 AM). This one hour seems to be so little time to do so many things. You might say that perhaps I should wake up earlier to give myself more time in the morning. Believe me, I’ve tried but it is impossible because I love to sleep! I have to have enough sleep which for me means eight hours; if I sleep less than that I get headaches and I am really unable to concentrate during the day. I know, eight hours of sleep sounds like a luxury in the busy lives that we all lead but I have to afford this luxury (maybe I am just getting old, in high school I could stay up till 3 AM wake up at 7 AM and I was fine). The morning is the time for my most important meal. During the day I can skip lunch or dinner but I just have to have breakfast in the morning (again if I don’t, I get headaches). I don’t leave my apartment without having something to eat. In addition to having my own breakfast I have to feed my beloved pet rabbit and give him his usual half-hour run around the apartment. Then, I need to pack my stuff that I am taking with me. I leave my apartment at 7 AM and some days of the week I don’t come back till before 10 PM so I have to remember to take all the things that I will need during the day. There is also a dozen of other things that I have to do every morning and they take up so much time and make my mornings very stressful.

Do any of you have a similar management problem?

About me.

Hi everyone,
My name is Agnes. I am Polish and most of my life I spent in my home country. After completing some college in Poland I felt like I needed some change in my life. I came to the United States 6 years ago with hopes of improving my financial situation and acquiring some English proficiency. At that time I didn’t even dream of being a student at an American University. That’s why today I feel so proud of myself and very fortunate to be a part of the Baruch community.
Before transferring to Baruch I graduated from LaGuardia Community College with an AA degree in social sciences and humanities. At Baruch I intend to major in I/O psychology or human resource management. I haven’t decided yet. I am a very curious individual and I like to learn new things. I suppose that is the reason why it is so difficult for me to narrow down my options and finally choose my major.
I can think of so many things I could do if I only had some spare time. I love music and I took several years of music lessons in the past. Today I don’t play the piano any more but I still sing. I enjoy reading magazines about social sciences or psychology such as Scientific American Mind. I love meeting new people and visiting new places and I hope that in the future I will have enough time and money to travel a lot. If I have some free time, which doesn’t happen often (never happens during a semester!), I can spend hours doing jigsaw puzzles.
In my busy schedule I always try to find time to get together with my friends and spend as much time as I can with my family and loved ones. I believe that supportive family or friends are essential for achieving one’s personal goals.

I wish we all have an inspiring and full of fun semester.

Thank you for visiting my blog. Your comments to my posts are very welcomed.