Debunking the Myth of Too Little Time

Debunking the Myth of Too Little Time

“I don’t have enough time” might be one of the most frustrating lines to hear. You know it’s a lie. It should be translated “I don’t value this enough to make time for it.”

We hear it all the time from others. We may even say it ourselves! “I’d join a gym, but I really don’t have the time.” “I’d meet with you, but I’m too busy.” “I used to love writing, but who has the time these days?” “I’d love to do this thing or that, but I’m far too busy.” What a load of crap.

What do you value? People naturally make time for the things they value. That’s why you see so-and-so getting up at way-too-early AM to fit in a workout. That’s why owhatshername burns the midnight oil on a that passion project. It’s why that guy over there takes time out from work at the same time every week to grab coffee with a mentor.

If you care about something, you make time for it. If you’re honest with yourself, you always have time. You might not have the desire, but you’ve got time. Let’s break it down.

There’s 168 hours in a week. Let’s say you’re super busy and work overtime, 45 hours a week. The average American gets about 7 hours of sleep per night, but let’s say you’re on top of your health and get 8 hours of sleep a night, 56 hours a week. So far you’ve spent 101 hours. Work and sleep admittedly take up most of your time, but you still have 67 hours left. That’s more than your overtime work week. How do you spend them?

Well, the average American spends 25 minutes on their commute, one way. There-and-back again, five days a week – we’ll give you some leeway and say that takes up 5 hours. 62 hours left. Take an extra hour for lunch everyday at work? We’re down to 57.

Take another hour for eating, 7 days a week (this would be average). 50 left. Let’s say you spend an hour getting ready everyday. 43. Let’s even give you a couple hours of leisure time everyday to read, watch TV, go for a walk, whatever you want to do. Say 15 hours in a week. Now we’re down to 28 hours. And let’s say you’re really, super busy, and have two other commitments every week that each take up an additional two hours. We end up with 24 hours leftover from the week.

Notice that in every situation, “you” are very liberal with your time. The person in this case study does everything above average, and still has a part-time job’s worth of extra time.

What in the world are you doing with all that time? Who are you to say “I’m too busy,” when that’s clearly not the case? Each and everyone of us makes time for the things we value. I make time to write everyday. I’ve got extra time to do it! My wife makes time to clean everyday. It’s what she cares about!

We spend intentional time with each other. Others make time for their children, or community service, or even to travel. But what are you doing? What goal or dream or passion are you letting go unfulfilled, simply because you’re not take taking advantage of the one thing you have the most control over?

You have dozens of hours leftover each week. How do you spend them? Are you wasting them binge-watching the latest Netflix hit? Are you endlessly scrolling through Facebook or Reddit? Or are you being intentional in how you use that time?

I don’t ever want to hear someone say “I don’t have enough time.” It’s not true! You can make time for anything. What is it that you value? What can you do with your extra hours to remove the excuses and create something to be proud of?

Too often the excuse is made that there’s not enough time. The mathematical truth is that there is enough time! You’re just not disciplined enough to use it. Don’t be like that. You know there’s something you want to do, that you’d feel better as a human being for doing. Make it happen! You’ve got time.

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