“I’m so busy.”
We’ve heard it from others. We’ve said it.
It’s the reason we don’t fit in exercise. It’s the reason we don’t get together with friends (even virtually). It’s the reason we don’t play a game with our children or have a conversation with our spouse. It’s the reason we don’t get in for a check up with our doctor or dentist. It’s the reason we don’t read as much as we want. We’re just too busy.
But are we?
Being busy has, for too long, been a badge of honour. If we’re busy, we’re important, we’re needed, we have no time for ourselves. In reality, most of us aren’t so busy that we can’t take care of ourselves, or play with our children, or grab a virtual coffee with a friend.
People who say they are busy often use the phrase “I’ll try to find the time” or “I just can’t find the time” when asked to do something or they’re explaining (complaining) that they don’t have time to do something they say they want.
I recently recorded a podcast related to evening routines (going live on Monday April 19) and during it I talked about my struggles with consistently getting my evening routine done. I acknowledged that I didn’t prioritize somethings that I know I enjoy and are good for me. I don’t have the time.
Instead of “finding time”, I need to “make time”. It’s not that I’m busy doing work or something that just has to get done, it’s that I’m watching TV, often not really paying attention, or I’m scrolling on my phone. If I’m not engaged in what I’m watching or what I’m reading on my phone is stressing me out, why not use this time differently.
I don’t need to find time, I need to make time for things that are important to me. I need to make the time to care for myself, to have good conversations with my wife and daughter. I need to make the time for things that are important to me.
Making time isn’t about getting through a long to do list and collapsing at the end of the day. Making time is about getting things off your list that that aren’t important to you and don’t need to be done by you. It’s about putting down your phone and picking up the book you want to read (I’m pointing at myself in an imaginary mirror as I write this).
Are you really so busy that you can’t find the time for things that are important to you, or do you have the capacity to make the time and just aren’t?
Featured image courtesy of Musicaline under a CC-BY-SA license.
