The statement, “I don’t have time”, it the worst possible excuse for doing something. After all, we have the same 24 hours in a day. It is how we use our time that separates us.
We all know people who get an (extra)ordinary amount of things done in a day. These are the people of whom we ask: “How do they do it?” (Notice how the question is framed. We rarely ask the person directly—“How do you do it?” Why? Because, deep down, we don’t want the answer. We don’t want to hear the answer. The answer is what I quoted yesterday–“We make time for what we value most” (Dave Goethals).
Arnold Schwartzenegger suggests we sleep six hours a day, thus, leaving eighteen hours to get busy working hard. To the one who says he sleeps eight hours, he says: “Sleep faster.”
There is something to be said for not sleeping more than our body needs. From an exercise and performance standpoint, the body needs adequate time (and nutrition) to recover. So, “sleeping faster” might be easily misunderstood to mean “sleep less”. Arnold’s Mr. Olympian titles would suggest that he was referring to the former rather than the latter. In other words, Sleep more effectively. Get quality rest rather than quantity.
Along with rest, we have to address quality nutrition for optimal performance. Adequate healthy meal preparation takes time, but…. When we are “too busy” to prepare healthy meals, we resort to eating out (which consumes far more time than preparing food, by the way) or we follow the fast-food/take-out route. Consuming high-calorie, highly-processed foods saps our energy—not to mention promotes the over-consumption of calories. Restaurant eating should be considered a treat and, therefore, rewarding experience. Choose wisely. If time really is at a premium, and one cannot or does not want to invest the time in meal preparation, there are numerous services that will deliver prepared meals—measured to your specific caloric and macro needs and meal frequency. All you have to do is heat them. These are not the T.V. dinners of my childhood or frozen dinners. These are healthy, nutrient-dense, quality meals that take out the time investment of meal planning and preparation, leaving more time to “make time for what we value”.
So, the question remains: “What do you value?”
If we follow Mr. Schwarzenegger’s advice, we have 18 hours left in our day. How are we using it. There are commitments that we must honor—work, commute, family, etc. There is, however, considerable time that is wasted—social media, television, games on our phone, unnecessary e-mails, etc.
Can’t find time for exercise? Exercise faster!
No time to read? Turn off the television. Read faster! (Try audiobooks.)
No time for contemplation/reflection? Turn off the radio in the car for 15 minutes and let your soul speak to you. Take they break during the workday without picking up the phone or checking e-mail.
The point is, we all have 24 hours to use (more or less) as we choose. Choose wisely. Break down the day and identify where time is wasted. Live “faster”. Take the time to “smell the roses”, as it is said, but don’t miss the opportunity to do so by valuing that which is of little importance. Prioritize your time. Procrastinate on the things that are of little value.
Carpe momento!