So many people appear overwhelmed and harried these days. I know I’m guilty of it. Multitasking, running late to meetings, and generally juggling too many things at one time. The idea of living a balanced, happy life is elusive. In fact, I’m not sure most of us seek it out. Why? Because it goes against the grain of our culture. I personally felt like I had to move halfway across the world to escape it. And escape it I did (for the few months that I was living in Nepal). But in the decade since I’ve been back, I’ve slipped back into old habits. Like many others, I’ve uttered the familiar phrase:
“I don’t have time”
As much as I believe that when I utter it, it’s amazing what we find time to do. If something needs to get done (even if we don’t “have time”), we somehow manage to do it. Add on what I call the “time-sucks,” and we often have more time than we realize. My time-suck is spending way too much time on facebook. I’m not an instagram girl (as you can tell by my hardly ever touched business account). But facebook I get sucked in. Some of the content is helpful and you’ll see it posted on my business page. But a lot of it is a big time suck. So if I spent HALF as much time on facebook as I currently do, I’d have a lot more TIME to do things.
What sucks up your time? If you want to spend it differently, it’s important to:
Figure out your priorities
We move things around based on our priorities. Say your kid is sick and needs to get picked up from school. No matter what is going on in your life, you will find a way to get your kid picked up. Or say your car got towed; you will lose hours of your day getting your car back (if it’s a priority. Otherwise you’ll be using CTA, the Metra, and/or Uber until picking it up becomes a priority). But there are also other priorities, like our relationships. For me, my marriage is my number one priority. I want to make sure that I am investing in our emotional bank account, having quality time, and making sure that we both feel loved and connected. So I put boundaries around work (and facebook) to make sure I’m actively prioritizing it.
When you get clear on your priorities, other things fall into place. You’ll put more time towards certain things than others. And this is okay. For some people a clean house is a priority and for others it’s going out to eat. You just need to figure out the best way to use your time. What is going to make you feel most centered, inspired, and connected? Focus your energy there. And be intentional about it.
Intentionality is key
Things will come up. We will get sidetracked. But we have a lot more control over our life than we sometimes give ourselves credit for… This is where intentionality comes in. Facebook is a time-suck for me because I’m lazy about it. I don’t set a timer. I thoughtlessly click the icon on my phone at all points of the day. But if I’m intentional, I can choose not to begin my day with my phone and instead enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee with my husband. I can read books that stimulate my brain instead of get angry at the bigotry in the world. And, let me tell you, this is a much better way to start the day…
Instead of scrolling through facebook, I can use the mornings to work on my business, write blog posts that HELP people, and make a change in this world. So that’s my commitment to myself: Be intentional about my mornings. How can you be intentional about time? Comment below!