by: Joe Cirillo

How often have you thought about this "your time is your life and your life is your time, when one is gone so is the other "

Time is infinite, not a renewable resource. The average person wastes two hours each day through disorganization and clutter in the home and workplace, causing pressure, stress and unhappiness. We sleep 8 hours a day, that leaves 16. If you waste 2 hours, that's one-eighth of your life, thrown away, gone forever. Time is not managed, time is first organized by having your home and workplace organized, under your control and then it is managed. But, what about your children?

Academia has done little to identify what time loss is to students in high school and college, how it contributes to stress and pressure and that teaching the value of time at a young age is an investment, an investment that can be spent later, but more important, if children understood the value of organizing their space could give them added time, reduce stress and bring more joy and happiness into their school experience and that this knowledge of controlling time would prepare them for a smoother entry into their careers and adult life with more confidence.

Give your children an advantage now that you perhaps did not have. Give them the gift of time, even introducing them at three, four or five, what the significance's is to putting their toys and clothing away, where it belongs, can benefit them later when they are looking for that favorite toy or shirt later and further illustrates to them that having a mess in their room or playroom causes the clutter that causes confusion that causes pressure and stress and lost time. It's never to early to explain to children what stress is because they feel it, as you feel it, they just don't understand it.

Give your children this opportunity. Teach them at a young age the value of time through organizing their own space. Teach them that keeping it neat, keeping everything where it belongs and putting it back, is their responsibility. A responsibility learned at a young age will make them responsible adults.

Time is your most important resource. It is what you do with it and what you teach your children to do with it that can lead to a happier more successful life. Don't let it slip away.