The number one complaint I hear from my clients is they don’t have enough time. There is major frustration towards the scarcity of time. It’s as if we think time is secretly plotting against us, taking minutes away from our day and giving them to some other underserving person. Yet we all get exactly the same amount of time each day: 86,400 seconds. And I know you know this.
Time is egalitarian. It is neutral. It exists regardless of what we think or feel. It doesn’t have anything against you, me or anyone else. So how can we create more time?
1. Change your perspective towards time.
If you believe time is working against you then your brain will look for ways to support this idea. This is called belief bias. Instead, start from the perspective that time is on your side and that you have the right amount of time to do what is important. The reality is: the only time any of us have is the moment happening right now, so do the most important thing in this instant. Stop fighting time and make it your friend.
2. Create a shorter daily to-do
Instead of actively trying to do more in the time you have, actively try to do less. One way you can do this is to make a list each evening with 1-3 things on it that meet the following criteria:
- You absolutely must do it the next day.
- You absolutely have time to do it.
When you check these items off by the end of the next day, you will feel accomplished, successful, and you’ll build positive momentum for the next day. Instead of dwelling on what you didn’t achieve, you’ll celebrate what you did.
3. Think of time in terms of abundance
We usually latch on to a perception of scarcity (not having enough time). Time is abundant if we stop treating it like a resource that we can just turn on or off like a faucet. The flow of time stays the same, regardless if we want more or less of it. All you can do is change what you do in that time. You really do have the right amount of time for the truly important things in life.
Be discerning.
Don’t just say yes.
Time doesn’t care if you’re enjoying it or not – but you have a choice for how you feel in this moment.