“I haven’t got time for that” It’s something we have all said it. It’s even a meme and remixed youtube video — search for it, you won’t regret it. (Or just use this helpful link — https://youtu.be/waEC–8GFTP4).
Now you have watched the video — sit back and contemplate the following. You who claim, like me, to not have time for so many things, found the time to watch a youtube video which is an auto-tuned remix of an interview with the survivor of a fire. I said you won’t regret watching it. Maybe now, you regret it a little.
This is a silly illustration of my main point. You DO have time. We all have time. 24 hours to be precise. Every single one of us on the planet has exactly the same amount of time each day, from the newborn baby to the highflying CEO of a billion dollar company. Every single one of us gets the same. The issue is how we choose to use that time. Don’t get me wrong, for a lot of us many of those choices are made for us or choices we have made in the past impact the options available to us today. For example, we all have natural human limitations, we all need to eat and sleep etc and so this will take up some of that time. The way society is organised around us will further limit our options, so if we have a job and if we want to keep it, then during set hours of the day, what we can do with our time will be restricted, to greater and lesser degrees by our employers. Let me give you a couple of examples. Your average professional office worker will have set hours each day where they need to be in the office and with a limited list of tasks, events and activities and a degree of control over which they do and in what order. But it isn’t always quite so simple. One of my favourite authors, Brandon Sanderson, as he began his career, got a job as a night receptionist for a hotel. The job paid the bills, he had to be at the desk all night, he was on his own for most of that time and whilst he had to be available should a guest need something, most of the time there was very little to do. He used this time to write his first books.
Once we strip out everything that limits us, looking after ourselves, the fixed aspects of our employment etc etc, you would be surprised at the amount of time that is left each day. So the question is, what do we do that time?
Most of us, myself included, default to entertainment options. Netflix or Amazon Prime, or even funny youtube videos. There is nothing wrong with this, it has its place and it has its value. But is it what you WANT to be doing time after time when you find yourself with free time? Is it what’s important to you? Most of us, I suspect would say no. Most of us would also say that at the end of the day, we don’t have the energy for anything else. I want to challenge this. I am challenging myself really. When I worked at nPower, one morning during our team’s break, everyone decided to get a sausage bap. I did too. I wasn’t hungry but I did. This happened repeatedly and before you knew it, most days at around 9:45am, I started to feel hunger pangs. A habit had formed and body began to feel like it needed the food I was about to give it. It took a week or so to break the cycle but eventually I stopped feeling hungry at break times. I am hopeful, that if I stop using my evening time to veg out in front of the telly, then eventually I will stop feeling like that is what I need.
I will use the time to spend with my family, to read, to pray, to write, to learn, to exercise. To do all manner of things that are far more beneficial to me, to my family and to people around me than watching another episode of House. And House, whilst enjoyable, has given me a view of professional medicine that I am assured is fantastical. My doctor friends have never broken in to a patients house in order to diagnose them.
Now, we are all going to need some down time. A candle burning at both ends will burn out twice as quickly. Most of us face temptation/pressure, to put all our wax into one giant ball, cover it in wicks and light them all. Bad idea — trust me. But my hope and intention for myself in the future is that this down time, this rest time, will be planned and intentional and I won’t just veg by default all the time.
So, what am I going to do? I’m going to start a 30 day challenge. For the next 30 days, I plan to use my free time in a more deliberate way. Think about what I want to do with it, what’s helpful, right and good and make a plan. It will be flexible so I can love my family and take account fluctuating energy levels and mood but it will be deliberate.
If you are still not convinced, try throwing some honesty and transparency into the situation. Next time you are asked to do something and you want to decline, don’t say “I don’t have the time this week” or “I just need a quiet night in”. Try some honesty….“I’m going to be watching youtube videos instead”
I will use the time to spend with my family, to read, to pray, to write, to learn, to exercise. To do all manner of things that are far more beneficial to me, to my family and to people around me than watching another episode of House. And House, whilst enjoyable, has given me view of professional medicine that I am assured is fantastical. My doctor friends have never broken in to a patients house in order to diagnose them.
Now, we are all going to need some down time. A candle burning at both ends will burn out twice as quickly. Most of us face temptation/pressure, to put all our wax into one giant ball, cover it in wicks and light them all. Bad idea — trust me. But my hope and intention for myself in the future is that this down time, this rest time, will be planned and intentional and I won’t just veg by default all the time.
So, what am I going to do? I’m going to start a 30 day challenge. For the next 30 days, I plan to use my free time in a more deliberate way. Think bout what I want to do with, what’s helpful, right and good and make a plan. It will be flexible so I can love my family and take account fluctuating energy levels and mood but it will be deliberate.
If you are still not convinced, try throwing some honesty and transparency into the situation. Next time you are asked to do something and you want to decline, don’t say “I don’t have the time this week” or “I just need a quiet night in”. Try some honesty….“I’m going to be watching youtube videos instead”
