"The best thing you can give your child is love. The best way to do so is with time. And, the best time to do it is now."

Communication is almost instant. Information is at our fingertips. But with all of this technology comes the belief that we can do more, do it faster, and that we should. Even worse, technology can be a distraction. 

Digital distractions aren’t the only problem creating a greater feeling of busyness. Many of us are wired in ways that make us more vulnerable to misuse our time. We call them “Core Vulnerabilities.” Do any of these describe your habits?

• Optimism: you usually underestimate how much time you need to do things.
• Perfectionism: you make things harder than they have to be and take longer “perfecting” because it’s never quite good enough.
• Over-responsibility: you spend time doing for others what they could (and should) do for themselves.
• Over-achieving: doing more than necessary in order to gain acceptance or accolades.
• Approval addiction: saying “yes” to requests to avoid disappointing others.
• Excessive Guilt: you overcommit and overcompensate out of guilt.

When you’re deciding about time, ask yourself: Is it meaningful or just mundane?

Action Steps:

1. Put your phone in a place where it won’t become a distraction and look to use that time with your family.
2. Do a fun family activity once a week to escape from life and show them how much you care about your child. 
3. Create a schedule for your days and work on being consistent throughout the week to experience growth and being more efficient with your time.  
4. Ask yourself these two questions constantly: “Is it meaningful or mundane?” and “Will I like the consequences of what I am about to do?”