I think too many students unconsciously equate time with value, and that’s a bad habit to get into.
For me, having dinner with my family is more important than any of the work I do that day. It just is. And yet, I probably spend more hours in a day working than spending time with my family – let alone just having dinner. That’s just a reality of life.
The lesson for me is this: what you spend time on doesn’t have to reflect your values. The things you value most don’t automatically get the most time. Some things just take the time they take, and you accept that.
I value my work, even if I value my family time higher. So I’m okay with having my value list not reflected by my time-spent list.
The same is true with everyone’s values and time. For example, a marching band takes the time it takes to rehearse. That doesn’t mean it’s more important than math class, or less important. Each just has time that reflects its needs.
We’re in musical season right now, and musicals need a lot of time to get right. That doesn’t make them more important than the Aces, though we rehearse just three hours a week. For some, the musical is more important; for others, the Aces.
How you order your values reflects you. How you spend your time should reflect your values, but it also must reflect needs of each of the things you spend time on.