Leap Day

"I need more time!"

"How can I possibly get all of this done?"

"There isn't enough time to..."

I hear phrases like this all of the time from students and have uttered quite a few of them myself.  The reality is that we often get overwhelmed with all of the things we need to do and it can be challenging to juggle our wants with our needs.  Sometimes we end up procrastinating on getting things done, other times we agree to help with a project when we really don't have the time for it and would have been better off saying no up front, or perhaps you just tend to underestimate the amount of time that a particular task will require.  No matter the cause, this desire for a little more time is common.

And then we reach today.  Leap day.  A day which comes around every four years - an extra day in the calendar.  (And yes, I know, technically it isn't really an extra day and it is to keep us on track with the Earth's rotation and the seasons, but still, in 2016 it is a year where we have 366 days instead of 365 so that means we have an extra day.)

Today is a gift.  It is an extra day where you can make choices about how you will use your time and what you will accomplish in these extra hours that you have been given.

But really, isn't that every day?!?  Every day is a gift.  Every day we have choices about how we will use our time and what we will accomplish.  We shouldn't waste it.  Not today, not tomorrow, not ever.

So for today, that is my focus.  To stay focused on the things I can control - my attitude, my work ethic, my time management, and my outlook.  I don't want to waste the gift of today.  I hope you will embrace the gift of this extra day and every day as well.