If Only I Had More Time, I Would [ X ]

X = Whatever You Haven’t Done Yet

Life is so busy, isn’t it?

If you’re like me, you commute daily, work 8+hours a day, get home and prep for the next day, sleep and repeat. Somewhere in there, during the mornings, I fit in writing, but other than that, I will often say “If only I had more time”

• If only I had more time, I’d workout more.
• If only I had more time, I’d plan out meals and eat better.
• If only I had more time, I’d write more.
• If only I had more time, I’d visit more.
• If only I had more time, I’d be able to do more of what I enjoy.
• If only I had more time, I’d [ whatever you haven’t completed yet ]

Have you ever looked at your calendar and calculated how much free time you truly have?

Well, I never have, until I listened to Todd Brison’s audio book called The Creative Curse. In his book, he suggests writing down your free time in a checklist format — and he provides a template on his website.

I felt kind of weird doing it, but after I did, I was flabbergasted.

Doing the Math

60 mins before work, 75 mins to work, 60 mins during lunch, 75 mins commute home, 120 mins in the evening (except for Wednesday and Thursday — I golf and sing those evenings!)

Unbelievable! A whopping 1710 mins a week (28.5 hours), not including weekends!

This was an eye opener for me. And it made me wonder, what in the world am I spending my time on? Surely, not the things I would like to spend my time doing.

New Plan

1. My goal is to read 25 books this year on psychology, birth order, generation research, and personalities. I will now listen to audio books during my commute.
2. I’m most creative in the mornings, so I will draft my articles as soon as I wake up
3. During lunch hour, I will focus on connecting with people on social media — very easy to do on my phone.
4. Three days a week, during the evenings, I will edit my draft pieces and share them on Medium.

I feel much more present and intentional during the week, which helps me stay in control of not only my time, also my life and my success.

This piece is part of my commitment to daily. Feel free to comment below or connect with me on Twitter