Time to have enough time.

We all have the same amount of time; 24 hours, 7 days a week. It’s how you relate to it that counts.

Busy mind, Busy day

How busy you are is how busy you feel. Consider that busy-ness in of itself is a state of mind. It’s not a fact. No one was ever factually busy. Being busy is the perspective that there is a lot to do in the time we’ve allocated. The actual fact is that everything will take as long as it will take, whether you feel busy or not. Not only this but the feeling of being busy can evoke stress and clutter our thinking, all of which clouds the space we need to be productive. How much one person can take on in the same hour as someone else is personal and in theory should be down to skill and capability. In practice it’s often down to mind-set and how much space a person can make to think clearly and productively.

Don’t let the feeling of ‘busy’ control your time. If you notice you think or say you are busy a lot; question what you have promised to deliver. Specifically what do you need to do and by when? If feeling busy is motivating and rewarding, keep feeling it. But remember that feeling busy is a product of how we relate to our time. It creates the illusion that time is moving quickly, and that if we stop, we’ll fall behind. In fact, time is always moving at the same pace. Managing expectations on what will be achieved in any given time is the key to managing a busy mind. And, a calm and productive mind will deliver a calm and productive day, by anyone’s watch.

Time to act

You can only take action in the present. Not in the past. Not in the future. The only time where anything can actually happen is the present. Spend your time today on the things that actually count, on the things that will make a difference and create a future that you want.

Procrastinating?

It’s funny how there isn’t ever enough time to do the things we say are really important but haven’t got around to doing. It’s like we think the time for these ‘to-do’s exists somewhere in the future. Ever considered; there is no time like the future?! There’s a reason the saying doesn’t go that way! Given we really do only have the present in which to take action, we might suggest that we are simply not as committed to doing those Very-Important-‘to-do’s, as one might be telling themselves. This doesn’t mean we are all lying to ourselves intentionally when we set out our actions list. It’s just that the same few items hang around like a bad smell, and do so for several months, with the hope that they will either be superseded or everyone will forget and stop expecting them. We’re subject to a genuine delusion that one day, in the future, we will wake up a different person with different priorities and motivations. Whilst this could happen (ahem), it’s more efficient to get clear and honest about what you actually intend to spend your time on, today, and get loud about it.

Procrastination is often justified by us feeling that we don’t have enough time. In reality, you are doing exactly what you have chosen to do, right now. It may sound brutal but you are making time for the things that you have decided to make time for. Obviously your time at this precise moment is extremely well spent..! But on a serious note, the amount of time we have is exactly the same as everyone else, it’s all a matter of commitment.

Ask yourself, what am I doing with my time today? Is it contributing to what you say really matters to you/your role/your organisation? And if not, how will you spend your time, when you wake up tomorrow, and it’s today again?

Published 08/01/2018