How to Find Time When You Have None

We all have a million-and-one things we need to do everyday. Between work, school, family time, extracurricular activities, staying in shape, paying bills, making phone calls, going to appointments, emergency chocolate runs to the store—all of our days are booked in one way or another. ;)

I'm one of the busiest people I know, not only because of all I have on my plate, but mostly because I'm allergic to not being busy. People ask me how I manage all that I do and I tell them all the same thing, "When it comes to not having time, people make time for the things they want to do. I just happen to want to do everything!" (cue maniacal laugh). ;)

I may be able to fit a lot of different extracurriculars into my schedule, but I know there are people who struggle with adding anything to their agendas outside of work and running errands. And I've gotta tell ya— that's no way to live! If you're one of these people that seems to always be bogged down by life's obligations and no time to fit anything else in, you've come to the right place. Today, I'm going to help you learn how to find time when there is none. :)

How is that even possible? How can you find something that doesn't exist? It's actually very simple. :)

As I said before, people make time for the things they want to do. No matter how busy our schedules are, we can always find time—if we know how to look for it. Think about it this way: If I want to catch the latest episode of my favorite TV show, I make time for it. If I want to go out on the weekends with my friends—I make time for it. If I want to sleep in on a Saturday morning, I make it happen! (See where I'm going with this?)

Whenever I start feeling like I have no time to live life outside of what I'm required to do, I begin to feel trapped—like I'm a prisoner to ten different agendas. When I find myself in this position I decide that I need to re-prioritize my life, or I'm going to throw everything out that I need to do and go play at Disney World instead (and let's face it—as much as I'd love to live everyday at Disney World, eventually I'll need to return to the reality of being a grown up).

So, instead of going nuts I decide to find a solution to my schedule problem. Are you ready to see how I do this? I'm going to show you how with a few easy steps:

1) Write down your current schedule:

-Take out a pencil and paper and make a Monday-Sunday calendar on a sheet of paper (nothing fancy, just so you could divide up the days of the week and fill them in).

-Think about the things you're required to do on each of those days and write them down where and when they apply (ONLY write down what's required such as: work, school, mealtimes, sleep, etc.)

*Example:

Monday-
5am-3pm: work
3pm-4pm: drive home
5-6pm: dinner prep/eat/clean-up...


Got it? Okay, let's continue :)

2) Now, think about how you spend your time on each day of the week—outside of your obligations.

-Add these activities that occupy those "extra" hours in your schedule and the time-frame they typically correspond to. When you're finished, move on to the next step.

3) Now that you've outlined your typical daily routine, evaluate what you've written and...it's shocking right? You've found an hour here, a half hour there, fifteen minutes between event A and B—you've found time that you can open up to spending on the things you want to do in life!

Pretty great, right? :)

There are 24 hours in a day and most people spend 5-8 hours sleeping, 8-12 hours working, and the remaining amount of time...wasting it! Don't do this! Stop. Just stop it, right now! Re-prioritize your daily routine and start living life to the fullest. MAKE time for the things you want to do. Time is a gift—don't waste it. :)

So, now that you've found this "extra" time that you could spend working towards "living life," it's up to you to make a goal, commit to working on it during the time you've found in your schedule, and use it to enjoy life outside of your obligations.

If you have a goal, but always seem to fail at it—whether it's because life keeps getting in the way of it, or—you make excuses every time life happens (we've all done it! ;), I encourage you to read my post about making goals and keeping them.

What are some things you've been wanting to do that you never seem to have the time for? What are you going to start working on now that you've found the time in your schedule to do so?

Share with us in the comments below. :)

-Heather