Today involved teaching their support staff how to handle common problems with the software.  I spent an hour presenting the issues that can arise and then another 2 hours answering questions.  The staff was very attentive and I feel the training went very well.  When I left they were experiencing a network problem that is not the fault of the software.

My flight from Boston to Long Beach was already delayed by 15 minutes upon my arrival at the airport.  We boarded the plane on time and then were told that we'd be an additional 45 minutes late taking off due to FAA regulations.  This made my flight an hour late.  We managed to make up 30 minutes of that time during the flight.

I flew on Jet Blue airlines and they are known for having DirectTV at every single seat.  I have gotten addicted to a show called The First 48 which is about a real life homicide investigation in the first 48 hours after the discovery of the body.  It is quite interesting to see how detectives operate and I could not stop watching episode after episode.  I also spent about 2 hours reading up on the Pose Running Technique.  The flight was uneventful, but the service was horrible.  On a 6 hour flight they offered us beverage service one time only.  I'd say the flight crew on this flight was quite lazy.

I spent the entire day fixing some configuration problems they caused through their lack of knowledge of our software.  I also listened to their change requests and assessed the feasibility of those changes.  Most of the day was spent just getting the system running correctly and ironing out some strange issues.  In the end it was a very successful day.

They took me out to dinner and I had steak with vegetables.  I was proud of myself for being able to be social but still stick to my plan.  It felt great.

I was just talking to a doctor friend/client during a training session and he was asking me about that very thing.

“I don't seem to be able to find the time to do all

I need to do” he said. How do you do it?

I said you don't need to find time.

Why? It's not lost is it? he joked.

You are not going to find any more time than what you have. Being busy sort of makes us look important. You won't find time, but what ever is important to you for that, you will “make” time. Then you will like a  good Steward, manage your time based  on what is really important.”

I find so much truth in this.  How many times are we guilty of saying “I couldn't find the time to do <insert anything here>”?  It isn't about finding the time, it is about making the time.  As the story says, when you are a good Steward of your time, you manage it based upon what is really important.  You make the time for those important things.

I have a friend who was in a relationship with a girl.  At one point they broke up.  My friend asked her if they could get back together after about a week.  She said she needed some space to think about his request and requested contact be limited to email.  She told him when she had figured out what to do she would contact him.  My friend would send her an email telling her his thoughts on things and ask for a response.  He wouldn't get one.  Later, she'd write and say she was just very busy and couldn't find the time to write the email. After this went on for some time, my friend finally got upset and told his ex that if he was important to her she would make the time to answer his emails.  He noted that she had made some online purchases, so obviously she could find the time to get on the computer.  After this my friend stopped contacting the girl at all.  This went on for 3 weeks at which point in time my friend wrote her a very long, but heartfelt email about his feelings on everything from their relationship to what went on afterwards.  He brought up some very important issues.  She replied!  That email and the response from her led to vast improvements in their relationship overnight.

The point is simple:  when it is important you make the time for it.  We complain that we couldn't find the time to eat right, but the reality is that we should be making the time to eat right.  We say we didn't have time for a workout, but we should be making the time for a workout.  If your health is important to you time will be available for it because no matter what, you will make the time.