“Tick, tock, tick tock, merrily sings the clock” … says an old nursery rhyme about time.
Time – oh, such a popular topic of conversation. We are all so much concerned about time, or the lack of it… Together with money, time seems to be what we all complain to never have enough of. Do any of these sound familiar?
“There is never enough time in my day.”
“At the end of my day there are more to-do’s on my list than I started with”
“I wish I had time to exercise”
“I want to work on the strategic stuff but I’m bogged down with emergencies”
“My assistant says “that’s the nature of our work, we can’t plan”
We seem to think that if we had just a little more time… a few more minutes, a few more hours in a day or a couple of extra days… than yes, our life would be perfect. That we could get everything marked off our to-do list, our house would be clean, the kids would be happier, our partner would feel loved and all problems would instantly disappear from the face of the world. At work, we’d get that promotion and walk around all calm, cool, and collected.
Are we REALLY sure about that?? What if we are looking at our chronic lack of time from the wrong perspective?
Why don’t we stop for a minute and start focusing not on how MUCH time we have but on how we spend the time that we DO have! What if the trick is actually do the opposite of what our hectic lifestyle seems to imply?
Tip One: Stop running around trying to do a million things. Instead, slow down and use some of the time we have to understand what is really important.
Implementation technique one: Start with a good night sleep. Sleep makes you feel better, but its importance goes way beyond just boosting your mood or banishing under-eye circles. Adequate sleep is a key part of a healthy and balanced lifestyle. Stress and sleep have a two-way relationship. High stress levels can make sleeping more difficult. They can even lead to sleep disorders. At the same time, getting a good night’s sleep can help reduce the effects of stress. So, go ahead and give yourself the pleasure of a good snooze.
Implementation technique two: Learn to say “No”. If someone asks you for a favor or to take up a commitment, you may feel obligated to say “Yes.” Remember, just because you can do something it does not mean you must do it. Give yourself permission to say “no”. Make yourself and your mental health a priority and work on avoiding guilt after saying “No.” (Hint: When you know your priorities, it’s easy to say YES to those and NO to everything else.)
Tip Two: Know your Why. Take a good look at your life. What are the things that make you happy? What are your biggest time-wasters? Make a list of your priorities and take practical actions to make sure you have time to dedicate to them. We will go into more detail in the next blog.
The bad news is time flies – the good news is you are the pilot.