I Have No Time! [and what that really means]

One of the big reasons people offer for not doing what they say they want to do is this: time.

I got so busy. It was a crazy week. The days got away from me. I just didn’t have any time.

In my mind, I just didn’t have time is actually [usually] code for something else:

+ The Goal is not a Priority

As a smart and highly [or even moderately] functioning human, you tend to prioritise the stuff you care about, even if it’s not what you say you care about.

Maybe you say you want to get fit but really, getting out there and sweating is not as important to you as developing your fledgling business. Or maybe you say you want to make more friends but actually, you are more interested in staying safe and watching reality telly and scrolling insta.

If this is the case, I would suggest tweaking the goal to make it more intrinsically aligned. Or getting real and disengaging from the goal, altogether.

+ You are Scared

It could be that the goal you are aiming for really, truly is a priority, but it just scares the bejeezus out of you. To avoid having to drop into the abyss of terror [from which, you worry, you might never return], you attribute your lack of action to the multiple, alternative demands on your time.

If this is the case, I would suggest speaking to someone. Someone who is unswervingly supportive and empathetic. Share your fears. Talk. Sit. Be.

+It’s too Big

Sometimes you set a goal and straight away it feels too big and its enormity deters you. But instead of consciously exploring the goal and adjusting it, you just put your lack of effort down to whatever excuse is at your fingertips, usually a lack of time.

If this is the case, I would suggest chunking it down. Break your goal down into actions that will get you moving towards what it is you’re ultimately wanting to achieve.

Very occasionally, the person sitting in front of me really was very limited in their time. But even then, I think about the busiest person I can imagine [who always ends up being, for some inexplicable reason, the imaginary President of the United States]. And I think: even The President would find time to call her most favourite person, or play with the dog or watch football or make macaroni cheese or stretch on the floor. If she really wanted to.

If finding the time really [truly, honestly] is the issue for you, I would suggest this: find 10 minutes, every day. Let go of your dreams for an afternoon each week or a day each month or a month each year. They might never happen and then the stuff you really want won’t ever happen, either. Find small pockets of time and make the most of them.

Tags: choices, goals