Oh, I would love to but I don’t know if I can make time.
This must be the global top excuse when life gets busy or when you don’t want to feel guilty about skipping something.
People spend hours though watching bad TV series, phones are getting at least 180 checks a day and staying up late surfing the net is a bed time habit for many.
I’m convinced it’s not for a lack of good intent.
You simply get too busy to think about it or don’t think you have the resources to make more time in your life. The tricky part is that you also know that you don’t want to think about all this, as it has to do with your priorities.
You’re sacrificing your ‘Me time’ over and over again.
Meanwhile, you keep skipping your yoga classes, you’re too tired to wake up early and you probably haven’t been the most enjoyable partner, friend or parent.
This is the perfect breeding ground for burnout and depression, and you know it.
You might still be performing really well at work, but you’re starting to get tired. And everything else you’ve been putting off until now is evolving from being overlooked to being more pressure to deliver.
The things you’ve ignored or forgotten will pile up, and instead of feeling fulfilled, you start feeling frustrated instead.
And, to top things up a bit, you’ll probably be even harder on yourself now for not being able to Do it all.
Sounds familiar?
All it takes is a fresh look at how we really spend our days, hours, and moments.
How you choose to spend your time defines your priorities.
Before zooming into the 5 tips that can help you in making more time, just one more thing. Too many people take their time on earth for granted, whilst we know it is not endless.
Investing time in caring for your health is so obvious and it will give you more time, literally—in days, months, if not years tacked on to your life.
So why not proactively invest just a little bit more in your health, and time here, by eating well, exercising regularly, stop smoking, getting plenty of sleep, going to yoga and meditating? Amen, but I just had to say it, right here, right now.
Make time or make excuses: let’s zoom in!
5 tips to make more time
1. ALLOW yourself Time and Space
I’m just guessing that you can use some more Dolce Far Niente vibes, or the Sweetness of Doing Nothing.
Getting over your conviction that your time is not well spent unless you’re either producing or consuming, is liberating. Realizing that it is even a limited and stressful perspective, comes close to Bliss.
Of course, there’s always something to DO. Does that mean you need to do it?
In Morocco, I learn every day that it’s normal for people to enjoy each others’ company without activity or even conversation.
Investing in this time of doing absolutely Nothing will help you to slow down and experience a different pace of life, in which time’s value is not measured by its productivity.
At the center of your being, you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want. – Lao Tzu
2. PLAN your Rejuvenation Moments
What are the things that really relax and rejuvenate you?
Do you know?
Plan them, make time, and do them more often.
Is it yoga or a sauna? Is it shopping or walking? A yoga weekend or a workshop?
It doesn’t matter what it is, as long as you make a strong commitment to yourself of making the time to do it.
Some yoga retreat participants tell me that it’s their environment that’s eagerly planning their rejuvenation moments FOR them, as they know how their loved one comes back from a week long relaxation and me time!
“Mum, we all agree that it’s about time that you go on a yoga holiday again ! “
🙂
3. ANALYSE Your Day
How often do you go through your days on autopilot?
You get up, you go through the motions of your lives, and at the end of the day, you end up feeling exhausted and overwhelmed, as though you didn’t accomplish anything. Urgh…
Writing down everything you do in a day is one of the best ways to get a grip on your time consumption. Only then, you can see and analyse if you are doing the things that produce the outcomes you desire, or if you are wasting time.
I’m serious! Write down everything you did yesterday. Include things such as brushing your teeth, making the bed, having breakfast, social media, details about what you did with work, etc.
It does not have to be chronological, just get it down on paper.
This will give you an accurate idea of what your days actually look like, if you can be truly honest about it.
4. Get your SYSTEMS in place
Systems can be so simple but so incredibly helpful.
Putting a keyhook by the door so that you don’t spend five minutes every morning hunting for your keys.
Or rearranging your closet so you can actually see everything, and not spend 20 minutes each morning figuring out what to wear.
Decluttering your house, your kitchen, getting rid of stuff you haven’t used in 6 months.
Or coming up with a better filing system for your digital photos, or your expenses so your personal admin time can be cut in half.
Investing some up-front time in creating better, more organized systems will reap you lots of time in the long run.
5. RETREAT
In removing yourself from your familiar surroundings and busy schedules, you get the opportunity to follow someone else’s stream for a while. This way, retreat time gives you the opportunity to see your own accumulated habits, some of which might be of distraction.
All great traditions have retreat time. Taking Time off to realign with our deepest values, rediscovering and tuning in with what is needed.
Never get so busy making a living that you forget how to make a life.
It seems like there is never enough time, and everyone is always in a big hurry. Between work, kids, responsibilities, obligations, errands, and other time consuming tasks it is no wonder that people are stressed out.
It has become unnatural it seems to simply relax or spend time on what’s Really important in life.
This isn’t just about time, work and others.
This is about investing in Yourself. About caring enough to MAKE the Time.
If you enjoyed what you just read, check out some other blogs on Why it is Never Enough, Manifesting or Meditation.
And, I would love to hear from you!
Would you mind sharing what is the most actionable insight you are taking away from this post? Let me know please by leaving a comment below.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read and share!
Namaste,
Rachel
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