What is your most common excuse for not accomplishing your goals?
If I were to guess, I’d say it’s this one:
Not having enough time!
Think about the number of times you might have said this in the past week. How many times have you said it in the last month?
Think of how you always feel like you’re trying to play catch up with time as you try to cram as many to-do in your day as possible. I’d guess that you don’t feel very happy or fulfilled at the end of such days.
Most people would say that they wished they had more hours in a day to do more of what they wanted. But would you?
What of you could start feeling like you really did have all the time in the world rather than feeling time starved?
What if you could do it with the time you already have available rather than dreaming about 25 hour days?
Here are three steps to help you overcome that ‘not having enough time’ feeling.
1. Examine how you’re currently spending your time
If you find yourself wondering where the time goes each day, chances are that you’re not very aware of how you’re spending it.
Spend a day doing an inventory of how you spend your time.
Since you’re likely spending a good part of your day in front of a screen, you can install time tracking software to start.
You might be surprised to find that you’re spending way more time on social media and mindlessly surfing the web than you’re comfortable with.
If you could reclaim some of that time, what would you do that didn’t involve being on a screen?
How about spending that time with family or friends?
That’s a surefire way of damping down that ‘not having enough time’ feeling.
2. Slow down and eliminate that ‘not having enough time’ feeling
Have you ever raced in front of a slower moving car going to the same place only to arrive a mere few minutes before they did?
When we rush about our day, we’re basically doing the same thing.
And like speeding, the advantages are often negligible in terms of time saved. Additionally, it’s reckless and may cause harm to oneself or others.
Slowing down helps you to be more mindful of how you’re spending your time and is less stressful.
Hence, you’ll begin to change your relationship with time from adversarial to friendly and this will help you feel more time abundant.
3. Practice mindfulness
I know it’s cliche but it really pays to focus on the present moment.
Most of us are either thinking about the past, time that’s already spent, or the future, time that’s not guaranteed to be given.
All the while, we’re not present to the time that’s passing in front of us.
By focusing on the present moment, you tap into the extraordinary timelessness of now. Now is eternal. There’s no need to hurry or rush because now is always here.
Make time your friend
If you want to change your relationship with time, practice these three steps.
Because you can make time your friend rather than your enemy. Sure, time is limited, but you have more time than you think—if you approach it the right way.
