Jim Croce's beautifully poignant song Time In A Bottle talks about how he'd like to save every day just to spend them with someone. In the chorus he goes on to say how there never seems to be enough time to do the things you want to do once you find them. But (sadly) keeping time in a bottle is a concept that is not actually possible so it's up to us to make sure that we use it wisely.
We've all used it haven't we..."oh I just don't have enough hours in the day to do..." but the truth is that we all have 24 hours to do stuff! Okay, there's the time spent on other necessary things like eating, sleeping, working and things like that but that can still leave you with lots of time for other activities and if there isn't you need to look at how you're spending your time.
If, for example, you are spending so much time at work or doing work related things that you don't have time to do anything to relax, or spend time with loved ones and friends, then the balance is too work heavy. If you are spending more time on social media, watching YouTube or viewing telly and your home doesn't get cleaned or you don't manage to do necessary admin tasks (for example) then your balance is tipping the other way. Living to work is all well and good but without regular time to relax with hobbies life can become tedious and perhaps unhealthy. Working to live is far healthier. You work, you earn money which gives you the means to pay the essentials and hopefully enough left over to invest in yourself - nights out with friends, weekends away, long holidays and save a bit too!
The fact is that we all use the excuse of not having enough time to do things but let's be honest if we really wanted to do things we'd find the time. There's always something we're doing too much of at the expense of something else. Keep a journal of the activities you're doing over a two week period; making a note of the time spent on each activity. Then look at it and see if you can adjust the timings on any of them to fit in something you really want to do. Remember there's always a choice!
Sometimes it's difficult to find a big block of time to do something. Let's say that you have music lessons but you are not able to find the time to practise on a regular basis. Perhaps you're trying to do too much in one chunk. So instead of trying to find 30 minutes in a day where you can have interrupted practise, see if you can do 5 or 10 minute blocks several times throughout the day.
The more things you do the more organised you need to be (this is relevant to working and homelife). I started using an A4 page a day diary...this was a conscious decision as I didn't want to be at the behest to my phone telling me what to do! The temptation was (is) always too great to get distracted by social media and text messaging etc.. I plan my days by breaking them into chunks and I prioritise accordingly. I don't worry too much about putting a specific time on items but I allot an hour for each activity. If I finish sooner then I put another thing I can do in the same section. The same activity can be repeated several times throughout the day or week but variety is the spice of life and I don't enjoy being bogged down by the same task for a long time! Most importantly though I am giving myself time to do my hobbies and activities I enjoy; if I don't then I end up working an 18 hour and my stress levels go through the roof. There's no point in working myself into the ground if I'm not well enough to actually have a life to enjoy!
Time is what we all want most, but what we use worst! William Penn
It's all about finding the balance. Life coaching can certainly help with this...contact me to book a session!