Plenty Of Time
I'm terribly sorry to say that, due to my computer crashing, which has all my files and video editing software on it, I won't be able to add video to the posts until I can get a new computer and repurchase the video software.
Hopefully Santa will help by bringing me both for Christmas.
In the mean time, looking for the good in all this, I guess it's good to practice reading skills.
Welcome to Confused To Confident Where There's Always Plenty of Time
Hello all you wonderful women. Have you ever said, “I don’t have enough time.” or “There’s not enough time in a day”? Does time always seem to be running out before your "to do" list is done? I’m going to show you how to always have enough time.
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With the busy holiday season in full swing, I thought it might be a good time to approach the subject of time. Not having enough time seems to be a theme for a lot of people. Time is one of those things that we never seem to have enough of. Very few of us seem to have time to get everything done let alone to just relax or take care of ourselves. We are constantly saying we are too busy for this or don’t have time for that. Herein lies the problem. We have as much time as we want.
Time Is Relative
Try holding your breath for a full minute. Most of us can't, that's too much time. Yet if we want to rest for a minute, it doesn't seem near long enough. Time passing is relevant to our thoughts. If we think time is going by too quickly and we can't get everything done, it will and we won't. If you believe there's plenty of time, there is.
We need to start training our brains to KNOW we have plenty of time. Today I’m going to give you some practical activities to help you start seeing you do have enough time, but the key is, to train your brain to feel it. The more you focus on a lack of time, the more you will have a lack of time. The more you focus on having plenty of time, the less stress you will feel about time and the more time you will have.
If you want more in-depth information on training your brain check out this post on Directions To A Great Life. For now though, this is a simple way to "get more time".
The next time you find yourself “running out of time”, stop, take a deep breath, and say “I have all the time I need to do what’s important to me.” That one statement will create a sense of more time, just try it. Today though, try the exercises here to start creating more time in your life.
What "I don't have time" Really Means
Have you ever asked someone to stop after work for a drink, or to chat, or to get together for lunch to catch up, and got the answer, “I don’t have time”? Be careful when you say this because what you are really saying is “You aren’t important enough to me to use my time on right now.”
Time For What's Important
That may sound harsh but it’s true. We all have the time for things that are important enough. Think of this example: you are swamped at work, don’t plan on stopping for lunch, and haven’t even taken a bathroom break in hours. You were just going to call your husband to pick up some dinner because you planned on being a few hours late getting home, you have to get this project done this week.
Then your phone rings and it’s a call from the hospital saying your husband was just admitted with a heart attack. I would bet most of you would drop everything at work and leave for the hospital immediately. (I'm assuming here that you care about your husband dearly) Suddenly, everything that was so pressing just moments before, becomes way less important.
You may try to find someone to take over the project and dole out some of the tasks to whoever is nearby, but your focus is now on your husband. He’s more important than a task at work, at least he should be.
We use our time on what is most important to us. So, the next time you say, “I don’t have time to…” really look at what else is taking your time.
Take Time For YOU
The blog posts here on Confused To Confident always ask you to do something. I’m sure many of you don’t take the time to follow through and DO them because you “don’t have enough time”. Taking the time for YOU is the most important use of your time there is, even more important than taking time for family members. After all, when they go over the rules for loss of oxygen on an airplane they always say to put on your mask first then help others. They know that if you don’t take care of yourself first, you won’t be alive to help anyone else.
It's Important!
It takes time to stop and put gas in your car but if you don’t do it, you are going to be stranded somewhere. The same is true for leading a fulfilling life. It takes some time to get, and keep, your life moving in the direction that will be most joyous for you. If you take the time to refuel, however, you’ll go a lot further, a lot quicker.
Unless you look forward to pushing your car as your weekly workout, you aren’t going to skip filling it up. I would like to suggest you treat your life with the same respect, unless you just like trudging along in frustration. In our hectic lives, especially during the busy holiday season, take some time for yourself to recharge and refuel. You'll feel much better and handle things much easier if you are fully gassed up and ready to go. YOU must be most important to you.
The activity this week will help you find time to re-energize yourself, but you have to DO it.
Activity - Plenty of Time
Step 1
"Find" more time by cutting out time wasters.
Example 1:
This week don’t go on social media at all. If you are one of those rare people who use social media as part of their job, ONLY do it at work and don’t extend work hours this week, fit it in. Also, don’t pretend it is important for work because you need to keep up on what others in your industry are doing or any other stretch of work “need”.
You can copy and paste this message for all your social media.
“Hi everyone, want to let you know I’m going to take some time for ME this week. I’m not going to be on social media all week so I can use the time to relax and de-stress. I invite you to join me in this week-long retreat.”
Example 2:
Keep the TV off all week. No movies, no videos, no shows. This includes on your computer if that’s where you watch these things. If watching TV is how you interact with family, try playing a game or going for a walk, or playing in the snow. Those will be much more memorable events. Those are the kind of things that build strong ties, not watching someone else’s life on TV.
Example 3:
So you don’t get the idea that this is just a “give up your electronics” scheme, another big time waster is opening mail, or email. For one week, don’t open your mail. If you have to open mail, or email, for work, do it only during work hours and, again, don’t extend your work day to get it all done.
If you were on a cruise, you wouldn’t have ready availability to email and you certainly couldn’t look at anything that comes in the mailbox, your life won’t end if you put off looking at it for one week.
You may think, yes, but then I have all that to go through when the week is over. That’s true but you can do it all at once. It’s a lot faster to scan a big pile all at once than little bits every day. Just try it for one week. Take a week and time yourself whenever you are opening mail, or email, then take the next week off and time how long it takes you to do it all at once when you return to it. You may like getting it all done at once so much that you make a regular practice of it.
Example 4:
Each time you go to do something, evaluate if it’s really important that you do it. If you skip washing the floor or scrubbing the toilet this week is it going to be the end of the world? Soaking in that tub in the candlelight is way better for your life than scrubbing down the shower door. I’m not saying to live in a gross mess but skipping some of those chores on occasion gives you more time to take care of yourself.
Step 2
Do things with your new found time that enhance your life.
Example 1:
Relax. Take time to do nothing. This is difficult for me so I usually do it by getting a massage or pedicure. I can just sit there, close my eyes, and relax.
Example 2:
Do something fun. Skip through the park, or mall if you live where there’s snow, take up a new hobby or restart an old one, do whatever you like to do for fun. The only stipulation is that it has to be active. You can’t just sit and watch TV. It must be engaging and active.
Example 3:
Try something new. Do something that you always thought might be fun but were reluctant to try. Just do it. Don’t hold back, don’t worry what others may think, just do it. This is great for your brain too. If you haven’t read the post on Increasing Brain Power check it out here.
In summary:
Train your brain to feel an abundance of time.
Clear time wasters from your life.
Take time for yourself.
These things will all give you a sense of "plenty of time." Try them and see how much more relaxed your life is, even while accomplishing more.
Let me know your thoughts on time by commenting below.