We all agree that efficient time management is important. Yet instead of being intentional with our use of time, we simply tend to say “I don’t have time”.
We often complain about the lack of time when we didn’t clean the bathroom before our dinner guests arrived, when we didn’t sell fundraising tickets for the school spring fair, when we didn’t learn Spanish so we could speak the local language during our vacation, or when we didn’t cook supper, rather picked something up from a fast food restaurant on the way home.
If you ask me, I think we tend to overuse this phrase whenever we don’t really want to do something. Even when we know all too well that it’s not entirely true.
We use it as a blanket statement, such as
- “Sorry honey, I didn’t have time to pick up your suit from the dry cleaner (because it would have meant driving 30 minutes across town after work when I’d been already dead exhausted)”.
- “I didn’t have time to get the winter tires changed (because I rather talked with my Mom on the landline at home instead of sitting an hour at the service station)”.
- “I just can’t seem to have the time for volunteering at the school breakfast program (because it would mean to get up 45 minutes earlier than I absolutely have to)”.
Don’t let time slip away
It’s such a cliché, I know, I don’t even want to say it out loud, but here it is:
You have time for everything you want to/have to/need to do.
The funny thing is that you even have the time for things you don’t want to do but you absolutely have to. For example,
- You’ll magically have time to go to the police station when you bumped into another car because you had summer tires on in -5, even if it means you’ll miss a day at work.
- You’ll have the time to drive across town for an hour when you left your wallet at the dry cleaner, even if you’re dead exhausted after a long day at work.
- And, you will also make the time for volunteering at the school breakfast program when your daughter gets treated differently by someone at school because of your unwillingness to help like other parents do.
My point is: when we are forced to do something, the time magically frees up for us to do the task. So, if we can make the time for things that we absolutely have to do. I believe we have the same power to make the time for whatever things we love to do.
You shouldn’t wait until you find the time to do things you love, because life happens.
You have to make the time for doing things you want.
If you’re the person who is always busy but never seems to get anything done, or who thinks life is a chaos and you’re a victim of your schedule, or who believes that life is dictated by others, therefore no wonder you never have the time for anything you want to do… well, I have some good news.
Keep reading. I have a solution for you.
How to make time for the things you love
I always say this to my clients: Thankfully, time management is not a talent some people were born with while others suffer through their entire life in lieu of it.
Time management is a skill that can be taught and perfected.
Efficient time management means that you are getting the most out of your time. You become more productive, finish the tasks you have to, and you can still make time for doing things you absolutely want to.
The question is not how much time you have, rather how efficiently use the time you have?
The following tips will help you hone your time management skills. You can use these techniques to manage your workload in the office so you can leave early on Friday afternoon, or organize your hectic family life in a way you still have the time to start playing the instrument you’ve always wanted (or whatever you fancy doing).
1. Change your mindset about time management
You don’t find the time. You make the time. Your schedule is in your hands (well, most of the time). Stop saying that “I don’t have the time”. It is a limiting thought you’ve been telling yourself, and now you believe it’s true.
2. Create a weekly schedule
Every Saturday or Sunday sit down and look at the week ahead with your personal, family or business goals in mind. Then schedule the time you need to achieve them.
For example, if you decided to become physically active, you will block one hour for exercising two or three days during the week. If you have to submit a report to your boss on Thursday afternoon, and you know it will take you 8 hours to finish, you will schedule 4-4 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday to work on it.
3. Efficient time management starts with tracking your time
If you want to manage your time better, you need to know where it goes. I suggest using a time tracking approach. You can download an app or you can do it in a simple table too. I recommend tracking your time for at least a month. Break down your days into 1-hour intervals and write down the things you do. As you keep track, you will be able to see more clearly where your time goes and see where you can find/make time for doing things you want to do.
4. Do not engage in unimportant activities
If you want to be efficient and make time for things that are important to you, decrease the time to the minimum when engaging in unimportant activities. If you find you spend 30 minutes a day surfing the internet, looking at cat videos, then decide whether this is the best use of your time, given your goals in life. In case it’s not, do not spend your precious time on this activity. Another good examples are spending hours on Facebook or other social media, or playing video games when you could use that time for something more productive.
+1 Tip: If you still don’t have enough time to do something you’d absolutely love to do: wake up an hour earlier than usual and use this newfound time to do something that makes you happy.
