Give up Something Good for Something Better

We each have a given number of years on earth. It is hard to know how many that will be. There are many choices we have in how to spend our time. There are many good choices, but what are the best choices? We all need to choose wisely!

What I am Starting

I enjoy playing Solitaire each day. Articles say solitaire is good for “older” people. But there are better uses of my time. I decided to relearn Danish, even though I do not know where I will ever use it. It may be confusing, but I am also learning Spanish at the same time. Hopefully, it will not be too confusing, but after 23 days, it is going well. Also, one son is also learning a language, so we can compare how we are doing. Maybe there will be opportunities to use these languages in the future. We need to make sure we are ready, as much as possible, when these opportunities arrive.

What Started this Thought Process

In church today, we heard a beautiful song, His Eye Is On The Sparrow Lyric Video • Keith & Kristyn Getty • Heather Headley – YouTube. We all have challenges in our lives. It is what we do with those challenges that really matters.

Work

There are so many important tasks I what to accomplish. At work this includes getting ready for two classes I am teaching this fall semester, relearning LISP with one student, and organizing a seminar in July. The seminar is to introduce Front Range Community Colleges Computer Science students to the Computer Science Department at Colorado State University.

Family

I also want to spend more time with Diana, Matthew, Aaron, and Aaron’s family. It is hard to eliminate activities that are fun but do not contribute to this goal. If you are old enough to have grandchildren, what activities would you like to do with them. How about time with your own siblings? When you live in two different states, or even two different parts of the same state, that can be difficult.

The House and Yard

Then there is the house. After living in a place for over 30 years, it is hard to get rid of items. This is especially true about items that my parents gave to me. I am trying to scan several of my father’s articles so that I can share them on his Facebook page. I have posted several to the Dr. C. Sharp Cook Facebook page. I plan to post several more.

Then I have my slides from my trips around the world. Digitizing those slides, three slides at a time, would also be a good use of time. Fortunately, they are mostly Kodachrome slides, which do not fade over time. I also have my father’s slides from his trips. How will I decide what is to be digitally or physically preserved? What do I not need to preserve for my family? I am getting old enough that some of those items I do not want may be worth some money. What should I do with those items?

Conclusion

The final thing to prioritize is ensuring I have enough income to sustain our lifestyle for a few more years. Everything is getting more expensive. Having a good side business can bring in extra money, but it takes time. I really enjoy my business and value the products. But all businesses are not for everyone. If you do want to hear more, leave a comment and I I will send more information.

There are enough tasks for me to do. How do I prioritize all of them? What are your top priorities? How do you organize them? How do you decide which good activities you are doing that need to be replaced with something better? Good luck. If you have ideas, I would love to hear from you.

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