How did we run out of time?

It would be the most used phrase or sentence in human history – I don’t have time!  Or various versions of are

• I’m too busy
• I’m flat out – I just don’t have the time
• Seriously mate – I’m too bloody busy
• There isn’t enough time

Are we time poor because we’re cramming so much into our days, are there increasing demands on your time, home / work / friends / family, you’re genuinely busy or, as I like to say, proactively occupied!

Is it that the focus is on the wrong things and that too often more and more time is spent watching other people’s lives on a mobile screen? We all have mobile phones and technology is great – but is it sapping you of valuable time?

Are you making the right investment with your time?  Do you fritter away your money – or do you value it?  If you’ve got bills to pay, you need to budget so you don’t run out.  So then an important question is – are you budgeting your time too? Or are you just squandering it away?  Not truly valuing time as a respected commodity?

Eckhart Tolle references two areas of time – clock time and physiological time.  I’m talking about clock time.  A couple of quick definitions so we’re clear….

Clock time – this is used for daily life.  Appointments, daily schedules (work etc). We set goals and tasks with a certain date to achieve them.  We are working towards a plan.

Psychological time – Well this is when you’re in your head! You are no longer present, you’re living in your mind.  Situations can consume you and you can get trapped in the problem, which is in your head.

It’s really easy to say – just make time.  We have never made time, we just reshuffle the priorities for the day. What is the key ingredient in that sentence?  We have been able to prioritise what is important.  Hold that thought….

Now this is the scary part – let’s break this down super easy.  It doesn’t matter how much money you have in the bank be it twenty cents or 20 billion (yeah these days there is no point just being a millionaire they all seem to talk in the Billions), it doesn’t matter if you are unemployed or are the Prime Minister and it sure as shit doesn’t matter if you live in a caravan or a mansion – the maths is still the same.

We all have 168 hours in a week.  You haven’t got any more unless you’re near the end of the week and you jump on long haul flight, but we’re just sticking to some really basic facts.  You work 50 hours in a week. Now for some of you that’s too much and others too little, but let’s just run with that.  And you sleep for 8 hours a night.  Again for some too little, for others your punching more z’s than that.  So in essence you have

Number of hours in a week 168

Less 50

Less 56

That’s a whopping 62 hours a week you have to do whatever you want.  Hangout with friends, exercise, upskill yourself (reading, studying etc).  So those 62 hours equate to an extra 8.8 hours per day of your time.  Not someone else’s time – your time.

So what are you doing with these extra clock hours? It gets back to what are your priorities, what are you working towards?  The next level up at work, or a new career? A new house, boat, school fees – you get the picture.

Remember when you get your tax done and you see how much you’ve earnt and went wow what did I spend that on. And then immediately thought, shit next year I am going to be so disciplined and then the next year came and you still weren’t.  Eventually you work that out and put your budgets in place, work towards saving for a car a house or something special.

Your education or self-improvement is exactly the same.  It doesn’t matter if that is upskilling yourself in something you’ve always wanted to learn, a new language, playing the guitar, or undertaking external learning by way of a new qualification.  If it’s important enough and is a priority to you, you make the time.  So if you sit back and work out where you want to be in 2 years, 5 years and 10 years – time will not stand still and wait for you and what are you doing to get to those milestones?

We hear it so often – I wish I had of started earlier.  Fact is they were not investing their time into their future.  The great news is they did work it out and did start.

You don’t buy a house today and sell it tomorrow and bank the rewards. It takes time, your knowledge and skills take time, career growth takes time.  Investment in you takes time.  Think about whether you want to be a great return on investment for you?

I hope you re-evaluate your clock time and invest the extra hours wisely to maximise your investment and achieve an improvement each and every day – your future self is banking on it.