The dilemma for many of us in the modern world is time. There never seems to be enough of it. It seems like your time bucket is full of holes, and trying to increase or better use it seem to fall away as quickly as water would.
How can you find time when it is constantly slipping away?
How can you find time when it is constantly slipping away?
You can keep trying to fill your bucket faster, but that’s exhausting. My guess is you’ve been there and are too pooped to go on. Every time you try something to make life simpler, it hasn’t quite stuck. So, what to do? The engineer in me says, find the root cause and nip the issue in the bud. In this case, it’s those pesky holes!
I like to call the holes where your time disappears through “time traps.” They are activities that literally eat up your time but otherwise don’t benefit you. Or, maybe it feels like they do, but it’s not the best use of your time.
Time traps are tricky because they can appear harmless and even relaxing but, when entered into, they wreck havoc on your real wants and even your energy. An activity to help you ‘just unwind’ can suddenly end up eating up so much time that you don’t get other things done. Then you're rushing around to get those other things done, get exhausted and then need to 'just unwind.'
Whatever the time traps may be in your life, you can figure out what they are. There is no right or wrong and all activities are innocent until proven guilty. For now, track your time for the next week and see where you are spending it. Include everything - sleep, eating, work, exercise, TV, etc. You can track this easily through online methods -- Chronos (phone app) and RescueTime (laptop) are two I would recommend. Pen and paper tracking is just as effective too. (Quick tip here - don't take more than a few minutes deciding what to do...otherwise, you'll go from time track to time trap!)
There is no judgment on how your time is being spent because how you spend your time is unique to you. And I promise not to collect your report next week. This is for you to have a visual of your life in the context of time. Make this a fun challenge for yourself.
What would you bet are the three activities eating up your time? Write those down now and then see if you're right at the end of the week. Once you have a clearer vision of your traps, we'll discuss how to patch them so you can reclaim your time.
To A Life Beyond Measure,
Shazia
The Life Engineer
p.s. Share this email with anyone you know looking for more time in their life. New people are welcome to join anytime and can sign up for practical tips and lovely inspirations here.
I like to call the holes where your time disappears through “time traps.” They are activities that literally eat up your time but otherwise don’t benefit you. Or, maybe it feels like they do, but it’s not the best use of your time.
Time traps are tricky because they can appear harmless and even relaxing but, when entered into, they wreck havoc on your real wants and even your energy. An activity to help you ‘just unwind’ can suddenly end up eating up so much time that you don’t get other things done. Then you're rushing around to get those other things done, get exhausted and then need to 'just unwind.'
Whatever the time traps may be in your life, you can figure out what they are. There is no right or wrong and all activities are innocent until proven guilty. For now, track your time for the next week and see where you are spending it. Include everything - sleep, eating, work, exercise, TV, etc. You can track this easily through online methods -- Chronos (phone app) and RescueTime (laptop) are two I would recommend. Pen and paper tracking is just as effective too. (Quick tip here - don't take more than a few minutes deciding what to do...otherwise, you'll go from time track to time trap!)
There is no judgment on how your time is being spent because how you spend your time is unique to you. And I promise not to collect your report next week. This is for you to have a visual of your life in the context of time. Make this a fun challenge for yourself.
What would you bet are the three activities eating up your time? Write those down now and then see if you're right at the end of the week. Once you have a clearer vision of your traps, we'll discuss how to patch them so you can reclaim your time.
To A Life Beyond Measure,
Shazia
The Life Engineer
p.s. Share this email with anyone you know looking for more time in their life. New people are welcome to join anytime and can sign up for practical tips and lovely inspirations here.