3 Steps to Help You Find the Extra Time to Do the Things You Love  

There just never seems to be enough time in the day, is there? We live in a time when we are able to get so much more done due to technology, yet so many of us still fight with the clock every day. Wrapping your head around creating more time in your daily life can seem like an impossible task, but it can be done, if you can take a step back from the daily activities you’re spending energy on, and possibly reconfigure some of your work habits. If you’re ready to make a change to accomplish more, or spend more time doing what you want to do, read on!

Step one:
First, consider why you want more time. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are you not able to do right now in your life due to a lack of time?
• What opportunities or experiences do you want to take advantage of by adding more time?
• How will your life change if you arranged where your energy is spent?
• Are you unhappy with your job or just feel you spend too much time at the office?
• Are you trying to create more time for social or family activities?
• Are you tired of feeling exhausted each and every week because your calendar is too full?

Step two:
Once you determine why you want more time, the next step is to figure out where you actually spend your time now. One way to do this is to take a look at your calendar (most of us use one, whether it’s on your phone, in a daily planner, or just on your fridge in the kitchen). Create a rough table for each week, showing what you do each day. Use categories including work, family, social activities, special projects, working out, cooking, or even travel. This exercise can be a big eye-opener for people who don’t realize how much time they spend in one place. If you’d like to take a bigger look, do a monthly or quarterly table as well; this is especially important if you want to find the time to travel more, or if you work for yourself and want to see a bigger picture about the projects you are working on and the time it takes to complete them.

Step three:
Now, decide where you want to spend your time. Look at all of your different categories and decide where you can make some changes. As you come up with options, create a new table that reflects where you can save time and what activities you can eliminate entirely to create more time for what is really important to you. For instance, is there flexibility in your work schedule to start earlier and leave earlier, or is there a way to do things more efficiently so that you can spend less time at the office? Maybe you can work through lunch to leave the office an hour earlier, or take a different route to work to avoid traffic during your commute. If your workout takes up valuable time during the evening, consider getting up a half hour earlier to get to the gym first thing in the morning. Or maybe you can cook your weekday meals on Sundays so you can use the extra time after work doing something you enjoy. Are you participating in too many social activities with your friends? Try going to one less get-together each month. You might even want to ask friends or family whom you feel really have control of their time how they manage it all. Making these changes can be hard, so don’t pressure yourself to change everything at once. Sometimes making a few small changes can go a long way.

Once you have created a better schedule and started to make the changes you need to find more time, it’s important to stick with it. Know when to say no, and don’t put yourself in a situation that makes you fall back to old habits. It’s not always easy, but remind yourself why you wanted to make the changes in the first place. Remember, time is precious, and sometimes it’s those little changes that will give you the flexibility you need to pursue your goals, whether it’s taking a bigger step in your career, moving to a new city, traveling more, or even starting a business of your own! Take a deep breath, a big step back, and take charge of your time; it’s your life!