3 WAYS TO TURN WASTED HOURS INTO QUALITY TIME

Over the course of a week you have 168 hours…

That’s 604,800 seconds in each week.

During this time you are:

• Sleeping
• Eating
• Working
• Attending to Kids
• Sporting Events
• Church
• Checking Social Media
• Volunteering
• Quiet Time
• Prayer
• And the list goes on and on!

And after all of these how much time is left for you and your spouse to focus on each other and your marriage?

Do you feel that your spouse is getting the best of you OR are they getting the crumbs leftover at the end of the day or at the end of the week?

At times this has been our lives as we go from one thing to the next. We’re two ships passing in the night and once we hit our bed it’s lights out.

You may ask yourself…

“I just want time for US. We’re too darn busy lately!”

“The kids require so much of my energy and attention, sometimes he gets what’s left over at the end of the day. He deserves better.”

“We just don’t talk anymore. We’re always running from one thing to the next.”

“It seems like all we do is work and I want MORE for our marriage. I need HELP getting my schedule under control.”

The core issue behind all of these thoughts is a lack of quality time. In our super-busy culture, it’s often the first thing to go.

And that’s a dangerous slippery slope – when you lose quality time, you lose connection with your spouse… and that’s when bad things happen in a relationship.

If this is you then we have 3 ways to turn wasted hours into quality time with your spouse.

1. Stop Living Life at a Breakneck Speed

It’s time to slow down for a bit and smell the roses. When life and your marriage is pushed to the edge for long periods of time you can bet that there will be an impact.

Do a time audit of a week in your life to see what needs to go. Write everything down, we mean everything and then assess what needs to be ditched. It may be necessary to say NO to some good things in order to say YES to your spouse and your marriage.

2. Stop Complaining

Complaining about your life or things in it is simply wasted time. If something is bothering you, change it. Be intentional and take action to shift what is happening in your life. It starts when you take the first step. Keep moving forward — away from that which is causing frustration and complaining.

When you are in a place of complaining you allow yourself and mind to come up with all the reasons why you have been wronged, why what happened isn’t your fault, or why something can’t be changed in your life.

This isn’t true. You can change your life, you can take control of your time.

Take action toward change. Shift your thinking, your behavior(s), your attitude, your job, your calendar, your outlook on your marriage.

Stop complaining and start getting to where you want to be.

3. Put Down Your Phone, Tablet or Game Controller

Oh boy we are the first ones to raise our hands when it comes to this one.

That phone is next to you where ever you go. In your pocket, purse, on your arm, in your backpack or just in your hand. It’s with you ALL THE TIME.

To be present and to spend quality time with your spouse it’s time to put the phone, tablet and game controller (for you gamers) down.

Disable all the rings, dings, special sounds when you make a sale, reminders for Facebook, Twitter, PayPal, and any other apps. Turn the sound off for text messages (if you have kids like we do, we leave text messages on vibrate and the ringer on our phone).

It’s time to take back your time so you and your spouse can experience the EXTRA you deserve in your marriage.

You have 168 hours to spend this week…

How much time is your marriage getting?

That’s a question we ask ourselves often. For us it came down to learning a few skills and strategies that honestly anyone can learn.

When you get the quality time you desire back in your marriage it’s an investment that will pay dividends for the rest of your life.

Don’t let another 168 hours pass by without spending that quality time you need with your spouse.