Do you ever reflect back on time that you spent and see it as a complete waste? You may think… damn, I wish I could have that hour, day or week back.
And, how often do you say… I don’t have enough time to (fill in the blank______)?
Many of us are overwhelmed, overbooked and committed to so much shit in our lives that does not matter that we no longer have the energy to invest into things that really do matter to us. We get too busy to invest in the important things in life, to focus on projects that matter deeply to us, to follow through with changing those unhealthy habits we talked about smashing 6 months ago during the new year.
And, really, it is not a matter of us not having enough time, because the same people who are out there crushing their goals, forming dream building habits, and sharing shit on social media that makes your mouth water have the same 24 hours a day as you do. The only difference between you and them… they invest their time differently and get a different return, cause, and effect. Simple.
They don’t waste the same 24 hours on thoughts and things that get them what they don’t want, rather they invest it into thoughts and things that get them what they want.
So if we begin looking at time as a form of energy invested and not just “time” spent, then our relationship with it might change a little. And, if we do not invest our time now for wellness, we will certainly have to spend our time on illness in the years that follow.
How can you begin reinvesting your time for greater returns?
- Remove Time Bullies: you can do this by default by scheduling your days and weeks around the things that matter most to you, by default you will not have time to waste on time bullies “people, events and experiences” that do not align with your time portfolio.
- Use Gap Time (time getting ready, doing things that take very little energy) to practice gratitude, mindfulness, or to listen to music/podcasts that inspire us.
- Remove Distraction Triggers: These are things, people or habits that take your mind off the tracks from having the ability to focus on what you need to get done (CELL PHONES and SOCIAL MEDIA).
- Plan Your Distraction: Humans can really focus for 20-30 minutes at a time in 2 hour blocks, this means that in a 2 hour period, you should have 4, 3-5 minute breaks to step away from your work and give your mind a break, then every 2 hours give yourself a 15-minute break. You will wind up getting more done and feeling more effective with your time invested. I use a 30-minute glass to help keep me focused during these blocks. When the sand is out, I’ll take a break.
- Know When To Do What: Different people are more effective at different times of the day for different types of tasks. Example; I prefer working out in the morning, then working on creative projects, followed by functional business items and relationships in the evenings, although some days this ebbs and flows.
- Block Time: Schedule large blocks of time to focus on key things that you must get done, for example, I have 2 hours of writing booked every Monday, a large adventure every Saturday, and some weeks I may choose to focus solely on one big action item.
- Have More FUN: Most importantly invest your time to maximize the enjoyment you get out of life. We form habits that burn our time up on things that we really get zero joy out of, which leads to so much pain, replace this time with habits that you get joy and excitement out of.
Investing your time for a higher return of joy will have a positive effect on your health, wealth, and happiness. Invest some of your time today to write down 3 things that you would have not invested your time in during the last week and what you will use that time for in the future to create more joy in your life.