Time. Everyone battles with the concept of time and struggles with how to manage it. No matter what you do, or how you try and organize your day, there never seems to be enough hours. We’re constantly searching for ways to make the most of our time and get the most done. It just seems like you always have too many responsibilities and not enough time to get everything done. That must be what it is, then. There is just not enough time to get all of the things I want to get done accomplished. I just don’t have time.
What you are saying
It’s a classic excuse. We hear it every day. We generally use it every day. There’s so many things that you HAVE to get done each day, that there’s barely any time left over to do much of anything that you WANT to do. Your responsibilities with the children, the house, with work, and your relationships with your family, pretty much take up all of your time. It’s like you’re on a hamster wheel, constantly moving but getting nowhere.
You hear people say that you need to take time for yourself, and you think, “Wow, that would be nice, but WHEN would I even be able to do that? WHERE will I find the time? My days are already maxed out, I just don’t see how adding anything else in would be possible.” And I hear you. Most days I feel like I’m baseline surviving. I’m doing the minimum of what needs to get done to keep everything going. I constantly rationalize to myself and agree that I’ll do something for me next week, or on the weekend, that way I won’t feel like I’m totally ignoring myself in the craziness of life.
I used to be one of those people that thought that I honestly didn’t have any extra time and that was a legitimate reason as to why I wasn’t able to take care of myself. However, I’ve come to find out that this is absolutely untrue. I recently heard something that not only completely changed my thoughts about the phrase “I don’t have time” but also humbled me in a way that I genuinely needed.
What you really mean
As it turns out, when you say that you don’t have time for something, it does not really mean that you don’t have the time for it. I’m going to be super honest with you, because this is something that you definitely need to hear, and it’s going to totally change your mindset about the issue of not having enough time. When you say that you don’t have time for something, what you’re actually saying is that it is not a priority. Let that sink in for a second.
When I heard this, it was like a light bulb went on. It’s not that I don’t have the time to take care of myself. I’m not prioritizing myself. Ugh – it was so obvious! I’m sure so many of you are dealing with this exact issue. Your priorities take up all of your time. You make time for everything that you have to do. Everything that matters and is important to you. You make time for your friends, for your family, for your work, for your kids, for all of your responsibilities; so why is it that you don’t make time for yourself?
We have so many responsibilities in life, and somehow we manage to find time for it all because we’ve made these things our priority. We need to realize how important we are make the time to take care of ourselves. We need to make ourselves a priority. It is so critical to not only our well-being, but for those around us that we prioritize our self care. We need to think about how we’re prioritizing things in our life. Evaluate what we’re spending our time and energy on. I’m sure there are things in our lives we dedicate too much time to. We need to direct that time to where it really matters and can make the most impact. When you do, you will find that you have more time than you realized. Now re-direct that time to what really matters here – YOU.
Looking for additional resources? If you struggle with prioritizing yourself, you can check out my article titled, “How to make yourself a priority.” Or, on tips on creating a killer to do list, you can read “How to write a proper to do list.”
