"I'm just wasting time"

To be honest, I spent the last hour reading the news, catching up on others' blogs, and sending out a few e-mails. It's 2:30, I have tons of reading I need to do, and Heather and I have plans for the weekend. Our first test is already coming up a week from today, and I need to do a 3-hour Medical Boards practice test this weekend so that I can get into a Boards study group. I was just thinking, "did I just waste that last hour? What is the definition of wasted time?" Every day, I only have 4 to 6 of my 24 hours scheduled; the rest is free time for me to use as I please. Time is a gift, isn't it? It seems to be a hot commodity these days. I have realized that the more I value my time, the more others will value my time. And, the better I use my time, the more time I have to spend. It seems like more than ever, with the medical boards approaching, every moment counts (I just shelled out $480 to pay the registration fees for this 350-question, 7-hour test I'll be taking in late June, step 1 of 3 on the road to achieving my MD degree). Even as I type this though, I value the time seemingly "wasted" as I follow the presidential campaign and catch up on the happenings in the lives of those I love, because it gives my mind a chance to breathe, to wander, to escape the drudgery of 2nd year. Now it's 2:45... I'd better go!