How Are You Investing Your Time

Time is the most precious commodity we have because it is the greatest equalizer of human beings. We will lose if we don’t admit this and treat time with respect. It doesn’t matter if you are rich or poor, healthy or sick you only have 24 hours a day.
Most of the time, we waste our time and energy worrying and thinking about trivial things. When we do this we usually forget about important things. A wise man will tell you “You can always make more money, but you can never buy more time”.
How often have you looked at the ways you invest your time? The word “investment” is very accurate because the way you choose to spend your time is a true investment in yourself and your life. People usually spend hours in front of the TV, or they spent a lot of time browsing the internet with no purpose. Some of us even try to trade time at the cost of sleep hours that could benefit our health. If you wake up earlier in the morning just to smoke a few cigarettes and fill up with coffee so you won’t feel sleepy it doesn’t mean you won any quality time. Also, inefficient work or spending more hours at work that you have to is equal to allowing someone else to have a loan of your life.
People sometimes say things like: “I’m just counting the hours to go home” or “I wish it were Friday”. These are signs that they usually waste their time. If you organize your time efficiently and if you choose to do only activities that motivate you somehow, then you will find yourselves able to work everyday without feeling tired or sleepy.

At any moment that you just let time pass by think about what the Roman people used to say ‘Carpe Diem’. Loosely translated ‘Live the day’. Make time to analyze the way you invest or waste your time. And never forget that you can’t see tomorrow so “Carpe Diem!”

STRIVE TO LEARN MORE

People sometimes find it hard to keep up and learn everything they are supposed to. This is especially true when they are learning about things that they have no interest in. Here are some tips to take you out of the they category. First, you need to not give up and use various methods to learn more.
Get a mentor/tutor
Whenever you see you can’t handle an assignment or you can’t get any further with it, you should consider getting a mentor/tutor. Many environments are meant for all and the group cannot wait for a few to catch up. The structure just does not allow it even if the individual falling behind is gifted but just slower.
Do not get mad
You are probably already upset if you have failed. To keep yourself from losing all interest in learning don’t get mad but sad. This change of emotion to a positive one is a step in the right direction. Focus on making yourself and others happy by improving your performance not dwelling on past failure.
Reward good performance
This has a good and a bad side. A good one where you gain interest partly because you realize it gives you and others pleasure and a bad side where you will become motivated in all things because of material rewards. You need it be careful when rewarding yourself so it does not become your only motivation.
Live a healthy life
A healthy life is good for us all. If you get enough sleep, eat right and are emotionally balanced the chances are that you will perform better.

People by nature. desire and need competition and, learning is a competition. You are not up against someone else as much as you are competing against yourself.

Methods of Home Schooling

The controversy of home schooling vs. traditional classes might never be resolved. Similarly the correct method of home schooling might not find a definitive solution but the more we know the better it will be to make an informed decision. Maybe if look at them with an open mind we might able to apply a little of these methods to ourselves.

Many people believe home schooling is two or three children sitting at a table, writing in their workbooks, while mom or dad stands nearby. The truth is there are different methods of home schooling that differ greatly from this notion. Below are some of the most influential and popular home schooling methods.

The Charlotte Mason method:
Known as the founder of the home schooling movement Charlotte Mason was a home schooler herself. Her passion was to lay out the foundations for an effective home schooling program. A need to be both fun and educational at the same time was essential. This method encourages a passionate awareness of literature, so beginning at the age of six the child is read to daily from a variety of classical literature. After this, the child is asked to narrate what they have heard. Then by ten the child is expected to write their narrations in a book. Mason believed that development of good character and behavior was essential to the complete development of the child's personality. With this in mind she advocated the use of 'Nature Diaries'. After each lesson the child is asked to go to nature and draw observations. This way the child gains a sense of respect for the environment.

The Eclectic Home schooling method:
A mixture of various home schooling techniques where the innovative parents trust their own judgment. Curriculums are improvised in most Eclectic home schooling Parents pick out the topics that make the best curriculum for their child. These parents are constantly looking for the best products to meet the needs of their home schoolers. The basic curriculum is ready-made but parents make changes to accommodate the individual needs and interests of their children. The child's gifts, temperament, learning style and interests are all considered when deciding the curriculum. Eclectic programs include visits to the museum, libraries and factories.

Unschooling method:
The most unstructured of the various home schooling techniques this method is a hands-on approach to learning. John Holt, a Boston public educator, believed that children learned best when they are free to learn at their own pace, guided by their own interests. His message was the beginnings of the unschooling method. The parent takes cues from the children with no definite curriculum, schedules or materials.

The Montessori method:
Starting in Italy, it was observed that children have acute sensitive periods, during which they undergo periods of intense concentration. During these periods, a child will repeat an activity till he gains a measure of self-satisfaction. This method depends on a prepared setting to encourage learning. All the materials used in the Montessori method are designed with the goal to satisfy the inner desire for spiritual development of the child. The materials used range from simple to complex, and are rather expensive.

No matter what method is used, the underlying factor is flexibility and a keen interest in the desires of the student. In any stage of our life we can adapt these methods not only for others but ourselves. The desire for knowledge should be the guide to further education.

TIPS TO HELP SAVE YOUR TIME

Managing your time is important to all aspects of life from studying to leisure. The next time you think ‘There are not enough hours in the day’ try these tips.

1. Some things can be done fewer times
Think about everything you do often and decide what can be done less often. Some things can be done once instead of twice. Identifying those things and acting upon them will help save a lot of time.
If you haven’t already, make a schedule to inform yourself of ongoing projects. Look at it daily but try to update it twice a month instead of every week.
Repetitive things like cleaning the house once every ten days instead of every 7 days may not seem like much but every little bit helps. The house won’t get dirty in those three extra days.
Another example is if you make a work report. Do it every six weeks instead of every four weeks if possible.
The list of things that can be done fewer times can go on forever.
2. Make yourself your competition
Be aware of the clock and resolve to finish an activity by a certain time. Focus on the present task. You can work more efficiently if you get rid of anything that could distract you so.
3. Strive to get more out of 15 minutes
Look for just 15 minutes a day that you could use more efficiently. Ask yourself ‘Is there lost time in my activities?’ Or see if there is a less important activity you can give up. If you manage to save 15 minutes every day, you will win 91 hours every year!
4. Complete little activities first
We naturally want to deal with the important problems first but this ma not be for the best. If we force ourselves when we feel tired, stressed, in a bad mood it is harder to concentrate and easy to lose time. Doing simple activities first will help you finalize something and push up your productivity. And obviously it is always better to know you did something, even if it is small, than to realize you haven’t even started anything.
5. Set a limit on the amount of time you spend on a project
Rather than to try and finish an activity all at once, it is better to tell yourself: “I will work on this for 15 minutes and see how much I can get done during this time”. Focus and try to do all you can during those 15 minutes. Too much time can be as bad as not enough. It can lead to over-thinking and doing the project twice just in different ways. This advice can be used solve problems or projects you have avoided lately.

This is not the only list of tips to manage your time but it is a start. Try these few ideas for a while and see how many things easily fit in a day. It may be more than you think.

Mind Building

All exercise for the mind does not need to be boring. Going away from the how to lists we find many times hobbies can help us improve. One of the more productive hobbies is mind puzzles. Mind puzzles can be fun to solve but also rewarding. Often times they encourage and challenge you to look for new ways to solve problems.

There are various types of puzzles including some of them to help you build your vocabulary. Vocabulary puzzles can be built in several ways but remember as you start a puzzle, your mind will naturally start to look at all angles of a problem to find solutions. The puzzle should be used to break away from preconceptions that stop us.
Using the same grid of letters we’ll start with a simple puzzle and move onto a more difficult aspect of the same puzzle. Look at the puzzle below and create a list of words. Notice that the first set of letters is the English alphabet. You will probably be able to find words like, wet – much – honk – me – take – we – can – make – go – time – by – fine – your – Tim – and – the - pie, easily enough.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Z Y O R V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H O B C
C K F A W Y C K A E I O U C K R W E T P I O
H O F N T O E O M U C H C T O U C H C O E F
H ON K C H M E I O U I M U T O T A K E A E F
W E C AN M A K E G O U D T I M E B Y F I N E
T A K E Y O U R T I M A N D S O L V T H E P I E

Now to make it slightly more interesting the words you are looking for make the sentence ‘She drank too much coffee’
You should have found at least one of the words already. Expand your thinking so you are not only looking for the letters to be on the same line. After you find the complete sentence in the puzzle, keep building your vocabulary by searching through the puzzle. Now continue farther by trying to find some longer words. Searching at all angles until you feel that you have found enough words.

Vocabulary building puzzles encourage you to solve mysteries, finish stories, or build a list of words. Regardless of the type of puzzle you participate in, they will bring you rewards. They help you to have the ability to solve problems effectively. When you participate in mind puzzles often your memory, IQ and other abilities will be enhanced. Do not expect to do a puzzle and then wait a month to do another. Mind puzzles will help you develop healthy skills only if you use them frequently.

Creative Notions

People seem to have the misconception that only a select few are able to unleash a steady flow of creative genius. The fact is, creativity is very much like a muscle that needs to be exercised in order to consistently give out great results. If you don't practice harnessing creative thinking, this skill will very much atrophy into inexistence. But keep working and this skill can come to anyone.

So how do you unleash your creative thinking? Well, the first thing is to become a human leech. No, we're not talking about just sucking the blood out of every living being available, we're saying that you should take in as much knowledge and learning you can find. Read everything available (good and bad), and keep your mind open to the infinite possibilities of the universe. The more you know, the more you'll want to know, and the more your faculty of wonder will be exercised. Prepare to be amazed at little facts that add a bit of color into your life.

Focus on a creative activity everyday. Yes, it's an effort. Even doodling is a creative activity. Don't let anything hinder you. Mindlessness may be a creative activity, but for people who are just starting out; to unleash a little bit of creative thinking in their lives, it is helpful and encouraging to have concrete evidence, that, "hey, what I'm doing is getting somewhere." So why don't you try it: practice drawing for a couple of minutes each day, bring out your old camera and start snapping photos like crazy, or keep a journal and make a point to write in it religiously. Another idea is to write describing something you have experienced with your five senses. Try to avoid vague adjectives like "marvelous," "amazing," and "delicious." Before you know it, you'll have built yourself a tiny portfolio, and you'll be amazed at the growth you've undertaken after amassing all those works of art. Pretty soon those things will become a part of you and you'll be addicted to these creative exercises. You might actually take to liking those things you do everyday.

Think out of the box -- or don't. Sometimes, constraints are actually a good thing. Limitations enable you to be more resourceful and discipline you to work within your means. Creative freedom is great, but limitations enforce discipline.

Try something new everyday and let your experiences broaden your perspective. Explore a new district in your neighborhood. Spend an afternoon in a museum to which you've never been before. Open up to the people around you. As you thrust yourself out of your comfort zone more and more each day, your sense of adventure grows and so does your zest for life. Think about it. When was the last time you did something for the first time? If it's been a while, I tell you, you've been missing out on a whole lot of experiences that could've added to your growth, emotionally, mentally, physically, or spiritually. Why don't you try bungee jumping today? Not only will you learn, but you will also have plenty of stories to share, enabling you to practice your storytelling skills and making you the life of the party.

Embrace insanity. No, not to the point of practically admitting yourself into the mental ward. As John Russell once said, "Sanity calms, but madness is more interesting." Exactly! Every creative thought was once deemed insanity by other "normal" people at one time or another. Luckily, that didn't stop the creative geniuses from standing by them. The thing is, sanity or being normal confines people to think... well, normally. Withink limits. Creativity is essentially breaking through barriers. Yes, this includes the bizzarre and the downright strange. I'm not saying that you yourself should develop a creative personality. That might go haywire. An example of a creative personality would be George Washington, who often rode into battle naked, or James Joyce, who wrote "Dubliners" with beetle juice for an intense fear of ink, or Albert Einstein, who thought his cat was a spy sent by his rival (or in thinking creatively in this case, the term could probably be "archnemesis.") It's important that your creativity doesn't get you detached from the real world completely.

I hope this article has inspired you to start thinking beyond your "limits." If you follow these steps pretty soon you'll be living a life full of interesting adventures. Unleashing your creative thinking will bring about a new zest for living life.