It’s night before it’s afternoon. December is here before June. My goodness how the time has flewn. How did it get late so soon?

Dr. Seuss

In my previous post The Journey, Not the Destination, I mentioned that my goal this summer was to be more proactive with my time. Instead of using my summer break to just sit back and do a whole lot of nothing, I decided to engage myself in reading more, cultivating my writing skills by creating this blog, engaging in music lessons, and volunteering – along with many other activities to keep me busy and focused throughout the entirety of the summer.

While this time has been very fruitful for me in many regards, I noticed that there were some areas in my life that I began to neglect more, simply because I felt I didn’t have enough time to complete them. One of those things has been my gaming journey, and how I’m disappointed that I haven’t completed as many games as I had planned.

To put this into context, last year I was able to play and complete ten different games. These were pretty remarkable games too, many of which made an impact on me. So much so, that I still am able to look back on my time playing them with fondness. Some of the games I’ve enjoyed the most on my list were Dragon Age: Origins, Dragon Age: Inquisition, Final Fantasy X, and The Witcher.

In comparison, this year, I’ve only completed less than five games, some of which I can barely recollect playing, even though I did enjoy going through them at the time.

At some point, my priorities had shifted, and I was less able to give my time to complete these stories that I had wanted to at the beginning of this year. Instead, I focused more on short-burst gaming with low-key stories that didn’t require as much time and effort to complete, such as Harvest Moon: A Wonderful Life and various historical strategy computer games that I’ve loved over the years, such as Mount and Blade: Warband, and Crusader Kings II.

Like many other people, I struggle with time management. Work takes a great deal of time out of my day, leading me to choose the activities for my evenings very carefully so as to not waste what precious time I have left to use.

Personally, I don’t like to stick to a routine for too long or too often. When I feel myself too gelled into a routine, I start to yearn for something new or fresh to try. I need to change it so that each day feels different and special, rather than monotonous and boring.

When being faced with decisions that have to do with time, I feel as if there’s a tight kind of pressure that knots my soul. I have so many things that I want to do and complete in a single day, but when juggling work, responsibilities at home, spending time with friends and family, as well as pursuing my interests…it can become very overwhelming.

I’ve tried countering this dilemma by creating To-Do lists, as well as daily/monthly planners. I enjoy the pleasure of buying a new planner, and having ideas of just how to decorate it and events to fill it up with.

While having a planner has helped me in reminding me of any critical events I have that day, it does not solve the problem of helping me organize my life better. Some things just take longer than planned, such as household chores, or being pulled out for an unplanned-family outing. Situations occur where my plans for the day are put on hold, and wait until another day to fulfill them.

Life is just too fluid and unpredictable to be demoted to a single checkmark off a To-Do list. In fact, it feels more like a road with multiple winding paths that you could take, with no way to know what lies ahead of any of them.

Another aspect of trying to combat my struggle with poor time management has been to try to go to bed earlier, so as to wake up earlier in the morning. I am naturally a night owl and love to stay up late. However, I found that I felt guilty during my breaks or weekends whenever I slept past ten o’clock in the morning. I was upset that I had missed the beginning of a new day that God had created – a day that will be like no other day, past or future.

As we approach the end of September and as 2019 slowly winds to a close, I find myself reflecting on my accomplishments and disappointments. I’m proud to see how much I’ve grown. I’ve gotten to do and learn things that I never had before, and practice cultivating skills I’ve neglected for far too long. I’m excited to see what the rest of the year holds for me. I just wish I had just a bit of extra time in order to complete more games, like I had last year.

That being said, through my struggles with managing my time and trying to balance my life, I’ve learned that time is a precious commodity that is not to be taken for granted. Although the calendar days and months repeat, year after year, each day is special and unique. There will never be another day like today. Or tomorrow. Or next week.

We ought to use our time wisely, not just to serve ourselves, but to serve one another. When we give up our time to volunteer, spend time with a friend, create memories with loved ones, or just spending time in prayer, we are showing God that we are grateful for the lives He has given us. Creating these memories and working to better our lives will have a more meaningful impact than just checking off another book or game that we’ve finished.

I hope I learn with every passing day to manage my time better. I still would love to play more games, and have more to share with other gamers about my thoughts on some of the stories I was able to play through.

Although I wish I could have completed more of these big-title games that would likely take me several weeks to complete and digest, I realize now that there is no hurry. Time is not to be in a race against itself – it is meant to be enjoyed and cherished, with every passing moment.

Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.

Mother Theresa

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