Getting the Most Out of Your Time  

There is no underlying, hidden secret to this topic, to create more time out of thin air. Time flies by so quickly that, when you look back, you experience a variety of regretful feelings for the time lost. How can you avoid this? Well, the sad answer is that these occurrences cannot be avoided. I also believe that regardless of a busy schedule or not, a 'waste' of time is just time spent unwisely and unfavorably. There are several ways I've learned to sort of 'go-around' everything to overall benefit from the little time you do have for yourself and for gaming. They are identifying your time-sinks, finding a 4th perspective, and, lastly, to move forward to focus on the next mission at full speed.

First of all, you obviously know what wastes your time in your day and also in your gaming. For me personally, nothing sinks my time more than being controlled or bossed around by someone I dislike, or am angry with. On the contrary, I do enjoy doing favors and helping out nice people. At work, the person I tend to dislike helping is my own boss because she is bossy and mean and is always explaining everything in one short sentence instead of breaking it down into smaller details. Which this forces me to take five times the time as long to understand what it was she was trying to tell me by breaking down that one sentences into smaller steps myself. In the game, I tend to dislike people who act like the game was built for them only and do not show courteousness to the people who are next to them. Another time-sink is when I'm spending time with my family or friends and I feel the anxiety and wish I was home instead. Other time-sinks include the times spent driving in traffic, being involved in useless drama or arguments, and getting mad over nothing.

So what will identifying what wastes my time do for gaming exactly? By identifying and acknowledging what sinks your time and acknowledging what they are, you start realizing that negative thinking towards negativity is not worth your time; kind of like Carl Winslow's little anger countdown, "Three, two, one. One, two, three. What the heck is bothering me?" Not exactly anger management, but after that little countdown, you pause and assess the matter. Say for instance, you're playing your game, partying up trying to level and having a good time. Your party is doing awesomely, making tons of experience points per hour. Suddenly a party member logs out and calls quits without giving notice. If you're in a bad mood, you're going to be angry. If you're the party leader, you're probably going to be pissed because you're going to have to replace that member and if there's nobody to replace with; you'll also be pissed when you have to disband the party. And if you were in a good mood before, you'll probably be disappointed or if you're weird, probably still be in a good mood. To put it in simple words, dwelling on time-sinks is also a waste of time. This happens everywhere. In relationships you and your significant other spat back and forth only to realize at the end you were just both wrong. Or in your guilds when you are out on a raid or operation and something unexpected happens that causes everyone to wipe out. Even for those annoying guild members or 'friends' that you know in the game that get on your nerves with constant favors. 4th perspective is all about countering your perspective how you see and feel the current situation--to see it from a different point of view.

Now that we've discussed the 4th perspective, how do you think this can help affect the way you think? This 4th perspective idea is not a new or an original idea. In fact, it was the influence of a guild member and friend. When the friend explained to my guild about how he sees and plays the game, it took my current perspective and taught it to reflect back onto itself like a mirror. This friend influenced us with ideas like being patient with the game and your true comrades and not taking the game so seriously as to get mad at one another or complain when death happens. I honestly took this advice and can see the truth to it when applied to real life as well. This article was not about how to schedule a pace or anything like that. No matter how well-laid out the plan, a single negative attitude can ruin it. So, instead of organizing a great plan, I placed my attention on attitude. Because I've been there myself, when I had the chance to play the whole 'entire' day, but I ran into some bad luck with monsters and died a lot of times. So, feeling frustrated and pissed off at the loss, I had logged out of the game to spend my time doing something else I did not enjoy. I ended that day feeling pissed because not only did I not level my character, but I was also mad at myself for getting mad earlier. That made me feel incredibly stupid that I had let go of my chance to play the whole day without any distractions. Needless to say, I do not want to repeat that. The next time I get a chance like that, I'm taking it! And I am sure that deaths will occur so I will be prepared with a "Re-raise" and a big laugh.

I'd like to thank you for reading this article. I hope you've found answers through my anecdotes. Please return back next time for: "Guild Relations". I will be discussing the how to's of building good relations with your fellow members and how important it is to achieve things together. So until then, don't forget to take that chill pill, the attitude fresh maker!