It happens a lot, but the reason I ran out of time is because I was giving it to someone else who needed it more than me.
Time is precious, and there is only ever a set amount of time:
525,600 minutes in a year
86,400 seconds in a day
700,800 hours in a lifetime (assuming you live to 80)
My day starts at 6am, I get to work for 7:15am, I get home at 9:15pm after working two jobs. Others have referred to me as "busy" before now. I don't think that is a bad thing.
Someone once told me that the more time you invest, the more you will get back. Well, that person was right (even though that person was so wrong about a lot of things, I still give him credit for being one of the best youth workers I ever had the pleasure of working with). I keep this mantra in my mind during my day, and do my best to invest my minutes where it matters.
When you work in a people focused job, it makes sense to use your time with those people rather than sat blankly behind a computer at a desk. Of course, sometimes you do need to type up notes or write important documents, but often there are people who need that time more than your computer. I have had the joy of perfecting the art of time management over the last few years, and when I made the decision to go back to working in education it was twofold - one because I wanted to study for my MA, but one because I never saw enough of the people I was meant to be supporting before, and for a youth worker it is important that you actually get to work with young people. Ok so maybe I wasn't mentally prepared for what is considered a life threatening situation by an 11yr old (being called a peasant/ losing your water bottle/ forgetting your homework) but irrespective of the scale of the situation to me, for that young person it is potentially huge to them.
What I love about my job is the constant flow of young people to chat to, and each year getting new ones to get to know. By spending a small amount of time regularly with a young person, they build up trust in you, and you can become their secure base (see other blogs!). I worked with someone who had not confided in any adults, but after nearly four years of my constant nurturing, that young person chose to confide in me, ok it wasn't what I wanted to hear, but the fact that they wanted to share their story was huge for them. I'm pleased to say that this young person in particular is now a well adjusted adult and making their own way in their very successful life - not because of me, but because I gave them time. Time to learn to trust adults, time to ask questions and get honest answers, time to get to know me and time to be recognised in their own right as someone of worth.
People wonder why I spend so much of my life with young people - well when there are so many young people in the world who need that extra adult to talk to, it's impossible to just turn them away. The time you give that person is extremely precious - once that time has been given, you can never get it back. That's probably why I believe in working in a job that makes you happy, because ultimately a lot of your time is spent doing it - I'm very fortunate that in my job I can share my time with people who value it and need it.
I work early and stay late to do the boring stuff, so that as much of my time as possible is available for those who want it. You cannot predict what will happen in a day, but to be prepared to give someone a quantity of your time is a good ethos to live by in my opinion. By giving time, you are showing that you care; you are proving that someone is of value and is deserving of your time. Yes sometimes we all get a bit rushed off our feet, but in the moments of quiet, it is a time to step back and reflect on the good things that have happened because you went that bit extra, you gave all that you had, and you got an outcome.
People connect when you give them the chance to. So, forgive me for my lateness but I was trying to share my time with those who needed it - whether it was a 10 second chat with the checkout person, or a heart to heart with a friend, giving them something that is non returnable is the best gift of all, and can change a life.
Time is precious, make sure you are using it properly. Don't waste it.
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