Five Ways to Create More Time for What You Want

Why Do I Never Seem to Have Enough Time?

We are constantly bombarded with both the meaningful and the meaningless. It’s not that we don’t recognize what’s important as much as it is that we fail to take action to protect it. Thought leader Michael Hyatt says it this way: We "sacrifice the important on the altar of the urgent." Think about it. He’s spot on.

Five Actions To Create More Time For What You Want

So then, how do we protect time for the important? How do we find time for the things that matter most to us? According to Hyatt, "The way you find time is you make time." Just like you, my calendar is frequently overfilled, my tasks are overdue, and my goals are collecting dust. I long to spend more time in nature, with my husband, with my children, and with God. To make that leap from wanting to having, I am determined to take action.

These five actions contain the power to release us from the grip of the urgent into a space where we can embrace what’s important.

1—Prioritize.

Intentionally sit down, weekly at minimum, to prioritize what must be achieved versus what is negotiable. I make it a habit to spend 15-20 minutes at the beginning of each week to examine my tasks, both personal and professional. I revisit my priorities daily to evaluate my progress and determine what may need to be rescheduled for another day, or even another week.

2—Schedule.

Get items off your task list and onto your calendar. If it is important, schedule time for it. If you do not intentionally make time for the important, it will not get done. I know each task and project must find a home on my calendar or it will easily be neglected when the urgent demands attention.

3—Delegate.

Quit trying to do everything yourself. If you want to free up more time, empower others by delegating tasks and projects when appropriate. Let people show you what they can do. Resist the urge to micromanage or come behind them to "fix" it.

4—Buy time.

There are many tasks that you can pay someone else to do. Whether it's outsourcing print jobs, hiring someone for administrative or organizational jobs, acquiring a virtual assistant—hiring an editor—or getting yourself a housekeeper, a landscaper, or a sitter, you can potentially buy more time for yourself. Consider the value of your time and how it could potentially be spent on other priorities (including rest and relaxation). Before you dismiss it, it's worth running the numbers to see if you could benefit from buying a little time.

5—Create margins.

This one was a life-changer for me. I used to be under the impression that if I scheduled more into my day, I could get more done. Instead I was constantly frustrated that I could never get everything done. I finally learned to build margins or cushions of time into each day. For example, if a task takes 20 minutes, I may allow for 30. It may seem counterintuitive, but it creates calm, often frees up time for extra, and allows for the unexpected. As a bonus, I have a better presence of mind to address the urgent when it arises.

Here’s the Caveat…

In order for any of these principles to work, we must actively protect the priorities, margins, and scheduled events we create. In a word: boundaries. If we are not willing to set and enforce reasonable boundaries, particularly for ourselves, we will not see success in this area of our lives.

I am recommitting to these principles in my life. Join me. Don't allow yourself to be constantly overrun by the urgent. Take charge of your time. And make time for the things that matter most to you.

*This post is written by Andria Flores and inspired from its original publication on WesMD.com.

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