If there’s one thing that I’ve learned in the past month, it’s that people make time for things that are important to them, be it people, hobbies, exercise, training.

If you care about something enough, you will go to hell and back to make time for it.

Everything else is just an excuse.

Comparing myself now to myself last semester, I realized that every time I used “studying” as a reason, I was just trying to find an excuse not to go to the gym.

Was I really that busy studying? No.

Was I really catching up with reading and work? No.

Most of the time, I would be wasting time on Gmail Chat, Facebook, streaming TV shows or football games. I was neither being productive with school nor with my body and mind.

I just didn’t care enough. I let my physical and mental health slide because I somehow concluded that law school took up 100% of my time. But truthfully, I just had horrible time management.

I am not a morning person, so I chose the section that has afternoon and evening classes, which means sometimes, I have 8 hour days with classes letting out at 8pm.

Last semester, I would go home after class, sit in front of the TV, and binge for at least half an hour.

This semester? I hit the gym hard for at least an hour and a half after class. What else would I be doing with my time? NOTHING.

Law school isn’t about the quantity of studying as much as it is about the quality of the studying. Yes, I study more than I did in undergraduate, but it does not require 24 hours of my day, 7 days a week. Besides, devoting that much of my time to anything is unhealthy.

So the lesson I’ve taken away from managing training and exercise time with law school is that: People make time for things they care a lot about.

It doesn’t matter how “busy” I get, it doesn’t matter how heavy my reading load is, it doesn’t matter how many motions or briefs or mock trials I have to do, if I care enough about my training and my body, I’ll get everything done.

I’m still learning about how to be the most efficient with my time, but I’ve now learned to allocate my time more wisely. Instead of wasting it away on things like online shopping and Hulu, I now “waste” it at the gym.

The gym makes me happier. It makes me sleep better. It makes me choose healthier foods. Most importantly, it makes me feel as if I have self-worth.

Regardless of what grades I may have, regardless of what internships I may land, regardless of what my professors and peers may think of me, I believe in myself because I prove to myself each and every day that I am stronger, faster, better.

It’s hard to feel worthy and smart in a high-ranked law school because everyone is intelligent and hard-working. It’s hard to stay on top of all the work you have to do. It’s hard to find a summer internship. But somehow, by running longer and faster, by squatting more and lifting heavier every day, I know that I will be able to handle all the curve balls that come my way.

I’m making time for what’s important: me.

 

Have you made time for yourself recently?

What’s important to you?

I finally did it.

On Wednesday night, January 26, I finally ran my first 5K of 2011.

To be honest, it was my first 5K in a few months. To think that I used to believe that 3.1 miles was a “short” distance.

I realized that comparing my current self to my past running self isn’t realistic and instead of motivating me, depresses me. So I stopped comparing and looked forward. I had to shake off the past in order to move towards the future.

I’ve been consistently going to the gym with my little bag that could. I don’t find excuses, and although I have not been counting my calories, I’ve been listening to my body, feeding it when it’s hungry, giving it nutritious foods and not garbage.

And that’s why I was finally able to run my first 5K in a long time.

My body felt strong. My mind was determined. I was invincible. I felt like Forrest Gump. Ok, maybe not that fast.

But it felt amazing to finally run 3.1 miles. After I finished, I had the biggest grin on my face. It’s things like this that make all the hard work, all the effort, worth it. The feeling of accomplishment is priceless.

My 5K time was 38:04. Slow, but it doesn’t matter. What matters is that I finished what I started.

Now I can continue moving towards bigger goals. 10K, I’m coming for you.

 

What have you accomplished recently?