Finding the Time to Do the Things You Love

Finding the Time to Do the Things You Love

Time is at a premium these days. It’s hard to find someone who complains about having too much time on their hands. Most of us are so busy with work, family, and various obligations that there’s little time left to do what we want! Creating time to pursue your passions is difficult, but it can be done with the right mindset.

When I bought my new house, I no longer had the beautiful garden I built at my old house. It was hard for me to even think about creating a new garden because of my physical limitations due to my stroke. The garden was my zen, my peaceful place. So, I carved out small amounts of time every day until I finished.

Below are a few ideas to help you find the time you need.

Decide what you want to make room for. 
The best way to motivate yourself to create more free time is to identify what you want to make time for! What are the most important things you’d like to spend more time on? Do you want to learn the violin? Spend more time with your spouse. Determine how you’d spend that extra time and ensure you have some good reasons. Create a list of reasons that give you an emotional response. 

Use your mornings wisely. 
Most people waste their mornings. They stay in bed as long as possible and barely get to work on time each day. Make the most of your mornings. Go to bed earlier and get up earlier. It’s often easier to do something worthwhile in the morning than in the evening. What are you missing by going to bed earlier? Probably not a lot. 

Understand the ways you waste time. 
We’re pretty ingenious at wasting time. Watch yourself for a day and write down how you waste time. Do you binge-watch Netflix? There are days I do, and before you know it’s 3 pm! You can start working on solutions when you understand where your time leaks.

 Make a schedule. 
 A schedule can keep you on track and help ensure your time is spent wisely. A schedule can help to minimize the amount of time you waste. You can also build time into your schedule to do what you enjoy the most.

Delegate. 
Create more time for yourself by utilizing the people around you. This can work at work and home. There’s a good chance that someone in your life has time on their hands. Put your employees, coworkers, children, and partners to work! A little help can free up quite a bit of time even if it is simply loading and unloading the dishwasher.

Prioritize and eliminate. 
Perhaps you have too many non-essential things going on in your life. It might be time to cut back on a few of those obligations. Look at everything you must do each day/week/month and consider how much value those things add to your life. You can probably find something to remove from your life.

Multitask. 
Multitasking sometimes helps. You might make phone calls or do essential reading while sitting on an exercise bike. Get your exercise while taking the dog for a walk. Make a few phone calls while you’re waiting in line. You can even work on your tan and mow the grass simultaneously!

You can find time if you have a good enough reason! Please determine what you want to create time for and make it happen. Delegate, schedule, eliminate, and avoid wasting time. It’s been said that the average life is plenty long enough, provided you don’t waste any time. What are you willing to give up to spend time on the things you love?