How can I have more time?
A number of my clients lately have been struggling with focus. Even my own life has felt like a big explosion of scattered thinking and lack of productivity. I’ve had so much going on I’ve felt hard pressed to keep up.
The main culprit for this scattered thinking and a lack of productivity is our perception of TIME!
“Killing time” “save time” “all the time in the world” “time waits for no-one” “not enough time” “not enought hours in the day” “wasting time” “time is the most valuable thing a man can spend.” “Making up for lost time” “yesterday’s the past, tomorrow is the future, but today is a gift, thats why we call it the present” “If you want something done give it to a busy person”
In todays society we rely heavily on time to plan and organise ourselves, complete tasks, Carry out social engagements, and feed ourselves. In a way we use our idea of time to control our life. But, sometimes, this can restrict us as we put pressures on ourselves to fit things into this framework. That said, we do have to live in modern society. So we do have to live with this concept of time. Therefore, it is in our best interest to harness its power and get the most out of it.
Did You Know?
We are making far more choices than our ancestors had to make and we have far less “time” to do them in.
When you look back to your life in your younger years, we all had less responsibilities, less things we knew about, less daily goals and things we believed were important to do and think about. We lived in a more present headspace. Dealing with life as it happened to us.
Fast forward to where you are now. You may now have kids to look after and engage, a job to hold down, or a business to keep afloat. You may have a house to clean, your friendships to nurture, mouths to feed, money to make and spend etc. I’m sure you feel it, your responsibilities and your goals have now grown and multiplied, and available time appears to have reduced dramatically.
As you try to cram more into every hour of every day so you can reach success, it becomes hard to focus on the tasks at hand. All the things on your to do list fill up the spaces in your mind, taking you away from the present moment. You forgo self care in order to get on top of everything. but more just piles up. The lack of presence hinders your ability to complete all or any of the tasks efficiently. All the while you are wishing you had more time.
5 ways to have more time.
1. Stop trying to do everything at once!!
Our brain doesn’t know the difference between us imagining or thinking about something and actually doing it. So, When you are constantly thinking about ALL the things you have to do, your brain tells your body to start doing all these things now. Your mind jumps from task to task, and your body tries to keep up. No wonder you feel like you are constantly fighting for control.
- Plan out all of the things that need to me done. Put them down on a piece of paper. Get them out of your head so you can focus on one task at a time.
- Practice being present during each task. When you are eating your food. Remove all other thoughts and focus on the food in your mouth.
- Make an effort to enjoy each of your tasks. Finding pleasure and joy in each moment makes it easier to be present. Even if it is something you hate doing.
2. Clean Out Your Life!
Having a full life can be great. but when it is busy and cluttered, it makes it hard to be present and enjoy life. Even more so if it is full of things that you hate doing.
- Eliminate activities, things and responsibilities from your life that are not important and bring you no joy.
- Delegate activities that can be delegated. – organise a cleaner, ask for help where needed.
- Employ some time management tools or techniques.
- Make time time to refill your batteries. You can’t keep going if you have no energy or drive.
3. Shift your Focus.
How good does it feel when you suddenly realise you had more time than you thought? You feel a sense of peace wash over you, time appears to slow down, Your thoughts slow down, it becomes easier to be mindful in your tasks, you become more present in the moment and are able to easily and more effectively cope with life. THAT is the feeling you want. Even when you are experiencing a life that is full. When you are in this state, its easier to not have all those “to do’s” vying for your attention all at once, you have the potential to focus your mind and actions on doing the tasks at hand to the best of your ability. AND your body and mind isn’t constantly in overdrive.
Instead of responding to “How are you?” with “Busy” try “Life is full at the moment”
Instead of “I don’t have enough time” try “I will make time to get my tasks done”
instead of “What a waste of time” try “I used that time less wisely than I could have”
Make yourself believe you have enough time!
4. Plan for a long life!!
“Life is short” or “live today like you are going to die tomorrow” are great sentiments. However, they are not beneficial when you already suffer from anxiety about not having enough time.
Subconsciously or Consciously telling ourselves we have limited time for life left, not only puts our body on a path of physical degeneration, but also makes us feel even more so like “I need to get it all done now.”
There are studies that show we have the biological potential to live to 115years. and the current life expectancy for our generation is in the mid to late 80’s. That is quite a long life really. So why, when we are still so young, do we stress out about getting everything done?
I have been having children come into my clinic with massive anxiety, and one of their things is that their bodies believe that 8 is middle aged for them. not 45 or 60 even. Give yourself the perception of more time on this Earth to get all you need done. Your body will start regenerating to support you!
5. Stop with the consequences. Focus on the benefits.
“Quick” “Hurry up“ “If you don’t do this now, there will be consequences” – things I’m sure you’ve heard yourself or your parents say a million times. Quite effective really. but, definitely not helpful. Have you ever thought about how the “hurry up or else…”, could potentially be the foundations for your overwhelm about getting things done??
Stop focusing your attention on the consequences of not getting thing done on time AND shift your focus onto what the benefits will be!
When we put our mind on the benefits of being on time:
- The focus is on winning rather than losing.
- We feel empowered to achieve rather than being fearful of punishment.
- The process is enjoyable rather than surviving through it.
- Accomplishment means Joy rather than relief.
At the end of the day, life is going to happen, how its going to happen.
We can’t control everything that happens in our daily life. We can only control how we react and feel about what happens. We will have interruptions, cancelations lots of time, not enough time, feel bored, overwhelmed…BUT, How we approach these experiences will either give us the ability to cope with whatever comes our way, or turn into a crumpled heap on the floor. The best way to do that is by living presently in every moment, Believing in our abilities and focusing our attention on getting things done.
