The Importance of Quiet Time
There’s nothing better than reconnecting with yourself after getting lost in all of life’s fast-paced activities.
I used to block that period between 5 and 6 AM in my calendar each day. I would call it quiet time.
Just from the name, you might have already guessed what it is — a time of quiet and peace. It’s a time where I meditate, reconnect with myself— my beliefs & goals. A time where I read my scriptures or meaningful posts on Medium while faint streaks of sunlight escape one by one from their hiding place beneath the horizon. Perfection.
It’s a time of healing. A time of inspiration. A time to breathe.
I can’t tell you how much I value this special hour. I would wish it upon everyone I know.
As humans in 2019, the way we do things is so much faster than ever done before with all this technology available to us. We also do a whole lot more.
We take home our work on top of our 8-hour days, sometimes hammering on our laptops at the dinner table. We have side hustles be it a business or an artistic project. We spend ungodly amounts of time on social media doing anything that could range from looking at cat photos to doing market research for work. We’re constantly glued to our screens, waiting for the next important email or message to come in.
I think Gary Vaynerchuk was on point when he said that for the majority of their whole lives, humans have always spent it on either of two things: working or sleeping.
And with the power of the internet ever accessible, even at our fingertips, we’re working more than ever.
I’m nowhere near an opposer of this tech era working lifestyle by any means. I actually think that it’s amazing how so much more opportunity is available to us now because of it.
However, there’s no doubt that the blindingly fast speeds of life in this information age can get overwhelming at times, causing us to unconsciously drift away to paths that we otherwise would’ve chosen to avoid. Pressure sets in, regrettable decisions are made leading to compromised relationships or years wasted on the wrong career path at best, and a state of depression & suicide at worst.
I’m not here to give advice on what you ought or ought not to do in terms of restructuring your life. For that I recommend two books: Essentialism by Greg Mckeown and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey.
I’m just here to try and convince you to at least consider doing some quiet time which I believe, could greatly benefit us as we go through our fast-paced lives.
For some people, it’s meditation. For others, it’s a journaling session, writing down today’s to-dos or skimming through a few pages from a good book.
Quiet Time the way I do it is a combination of all these with a sole purpose of reconnecting with my goals and beliefs in life. It’s also a time where I take one long breath for an hour before I plunge into my busy day.
The result: I remember.
Each time I have quiet time, I remember
- to be honest
- to be optimistic
- to be empathetic and not judgmental
- to be thankful for what I have
- to be appreciative of those who love me
- to be understanding and kind
- to work out
- to eat healthy
- to stay on the path towards my goals
- to stay true to my beliefs
- to not give in to peer pressure
- to avoid temptation
- to look out for the little guy
- to be helpful
- to re-evaluate my actions and thoughts
- to maintain an attitude of learning and humility
… the list goes on and on.
It sure might look like a really long list. But because I do Quiet Time, I remember ALL OF THEM and put them into action to the best of my ability.
I actually started scheduling it at a different time of the day because of a change of schedule at work. I also made it more interesting by adding a swimming session in there, making it 2 hours.
I recommend that you start applying this method now. Try squeezing it into your schedule.
You could obviously do it in your own way or call it something else so long as it achieves the same purpose.
Once you do, let me know how it goes.
Thanks for reading!
