“Nobody is too busy in this world it is all about priorities” Marc Chernoff
We live in the fastest paced period of all time. The rate and volume of information available has exploded as has our ability to connect digitally with people all over the world. At the same time commitments at home, work and elsewhere continue to climb as do the external pressures created by the unattainable vision of how we should act, behave and what we should achieve in this day and age.
Is it any wonder so many of us feel like we’re stuck in the cycle of a washing machine being pulled, prodded and poked from every which angle? It shouldn’t be surprising that under these conditions more of us have adequacy and confidence issues, we’re more disconnected from those around us than ever and good manners, respect for others and self-less gestures become rarer every day.
It’s also not surprising that we don’t feel like we have a whole heap of time on our hands to do anything let along a touchy feely reflective practice. It’s a natural and common response we’ve come to expect and love to challenge. In other words we’re calling bull-dust. The reason we can do this is because if you’re like us and a billion other people out there, you would be amazed at how much time you can take back. It is and always will be all about priorities.
Ever wonder how some people just seem to be super productive, can have so many things on the go and still achieve all the things they want? We’ll give you a tip that it’s not because they have more than 24 hours in their day. Typically it’s because they are crystal clear on their priorities and have constructive habits and routines that they follow with discipline – aka processes.
For most people, we all have one or more weak spots that are largely responsible for the majority of our wasted and/or unproductive time. At the end of the day it comes down to our choices and our choices reflect our priorities. Now that’s not to say that we need to productive and resourceful 100% of the time however finding the right balance is critical, particularly as we try to introduce positive behaviours into our life.
Whilst our weak spots may vary far and wide, we feel there are 3 areas where most, if not all, people can claw back a little bit of time. These are:
- Social Media and/or TV is likely the biggest killer of time out there. Many people would be surprised to understand how much time they spent on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or watching and streaming shows on TV.
- The daily commute is typically an unavoidable and critical component of our life – to earn money – however it can be a massive time killer for most people. This is particularly true for those who drive to work.
- For many finding time alone may be the biggest barrier to taking time back. Ask any parent out there whether they’d love to claw back some time for themselves and you’ll get a profound yes however in many cases that is easier said than done.
So what do we suggest?
Thinking about what is the most relevant for you, you’ll find some tips to try over the following week. Like most things in life, what is most effective for you will depend on your situation, preferences and lifestyle.
For us, social media is our absolute killer due to the time we spend aimlessly checking updates that don’t really deliver any real value. So we followed our own advice and started to track how much time we spent on not only social media but all the applications on our phone (there’s a very easy to use, free app we used called Moment that helped us with this) and was unpleasantly surprised at the results. From there – and leveraging the “Power of process” – we put barriers in place to limit the time we spent on the biggest culprits and also identified times during the day when this was at its worst and filled this time more constructive activities.
Assuming you go on a similar path with your weak spot, you’ll likely find that not only is 30 minutes a week to complete a reflective goal-setting activity possible but you’ll be able to add other activities into your life as well.
Action for the week:
- Social Media/TV – spend 30 mins objectively assessing how much time you spend on social media and/or watching TV by either starting a written log or by leveraging one of the apps that are available.
- Commute time – for those that catch public transport, this is a relatively simple step as opportunities to use this time are relatively obvious; this could include reflective goal-setting.
For those that walk or drive, this time can be spent on the activities that are available at this time which will free time up in other parts of your day. For example, both walking and driving can be a great time to listen to audio books, podcasts or make calls to family and friends. Doing this, should then free up time elsewhere so that you can focus on other activities such as reflective goal-setting.
- Finding time alone – use the next time you have 10 minutes to yourself such as when in the shower, to identify potential options that are relevant to your situation. In many cases, this will likely involve a compromise with your support network which would give you a small window of time to yourself. For example, it might be that you need a partner or family member to look after children whilst you take 30 minutes for yourself each week.
If that’s not an option, then there’s nothing getting in the way of you trying to do include reflective goal-setting (or any other activity you’d like to do more of) despite this. We hazard a guess that this can still be done despite distractions and interruptions – it’s likely it’ll just take a little longer than normal.
An added benefit you can expect from doing more fulfilling activities more often is the sense of reward and personal growth that comes with moving closer towards and achieving your goals. A key factor in this is focus and in our next post we’ll share how our focus is tested more than ever before on a daily basis and the importance of removing distractions from your life.
We’d love to hear how you’ve gone with taking time back, what has or hasn’t worked for you and any other comments or questions you have. Please reach out to us at any of our social media channels.