Guest Post: Using Your Free time for Your Passion by Marcio Coelho

I was always interested in doing more things than my free time allowed. Surely having a job with something that does not make me truly happy, increases my anxiety to seek satisfaction outside of the company. But it’s been like this since I was a child. I remember that after I came home from school and ate lunch, I used to spend the day involved in some kind of activity, in most cases, related to music.
So I got some theoretical knowledge about music, rock bands, and national and international artists. Moreover, I myself have become a musician. Unfortunately I still don’t work in this business; I have music only as a hobby, and also part of a bigger dream to be realized, but distant for now.

But why am I talking about music, since the idea is to talk about time management?
Because I used the free time I had with something that I really liked: a passion. If you do not spend your spare time with your true passion, at least a portion of it, you are probably managing your time in the wrong way. And over time, not so good consequences will come.
Today I work as the only software developer for a small company . The workload, some times, is absurd for just one person. A few years ago, when I still did not have this notion of having a possibly inhumane job, I used to yell and struggle with my coworkers , take those bad feelings out of the company, and transfer it to my family and friends.
Anxiety took over my life – until very recently. Then gradually I began to educate myself to do only what was possible, and not worry about what I can not accomplish that day at work. No matter whether customers would complain, or if my boss would yell at me - we all had to understand the fact that I was alone. If the company did not want or could not hire other programmers to help me, fine, but I could not harm my physical and mental health because of a job. Areas like design, web design and software development have a motto in Portuguese that sounds like "our company is not a pastry" (where you ask for a pie and the clerk would delivers it to you right away).
Everything needs time and the customer must wait, like it or not.
If this is happening to you, it's time to stop and consider whether it is worth.
By the time you start to notice things like peeling skin, spinal pain, unexplained stomach aches and headaches, and so on, you need to stop and think about it. I have seen people going to the hospital because of accumulated stress at work. I myself have felt pain in the kidney that I could not explain very well how it happened. On another occasion, a sharp pain in the middle of my chest made me think that something serious was happening to me, some kind of heart problem, but in the end all the doctors found nothing and said "it would have been gas" (a little funny and kind of ridiculous, but rather that than a heart issue).
After what I have lived and suffered for not knowing how to manage well my time, I can say that if you feel some kind of imbalance in your life, or cannot do everything you would like, remember to stop for a few minutes, close your eyes, breathe, and try to search deep in your consciousness for what you can change, and be more free to do what you love, even if it is not in your current working time.
Exit the office, even if your job is not perfect, and make time to have fun with those you love, doing what you love. If you have an awesome job, it’s even better, but still don’t let it dominate your schedule. It`s you who command your calendar, and not the contrary!

 Author Bio
Marcio CS is a Brazilian musician, blogger and writer, 39 years old, who also works in IT. He`s happily married to another writer, Marcia Tondello. They have a daughter, Lara, who is also growing into an artist.
I use the nickname "Marcio CS", that is my artist nickname :)

My current blog is at http://www.marciocs.com.br (which it`s redirecting to http://eumarciocs.wordpress.com).