Who Has Time?

The title of this post is a statement we have all uttered at one point or another.  It's been asked for many things and for various reasons.  It's been contemplated as people try to put all they can on themselves and live the fullest life possible.  The question I have for these people who utter the statement is, "Really?"
First off, time is what it is.  There are 24 hours in a day and we all get the same 24.  The real question is, "What are you doing with your 24?" So many times when we talk about not having enough time to do something, it usually means that we have already allotted our time on what we feel is most important and we can't fit one more thing in.  The end result is that we can...if we really want to.  The day still starts with the sun and ends with the moon.  Another question I have for the people who say they don't have time is, "What is it you want to do with your time?"  Many times that answer is far different than what they actually spend their time doing.

If any of you have ever been on Weight Watchers, you know that one thing they ask you to do is track your food.  Every single thing you put in your mouth that day gets documented.  EVERY LITTLE THING.  In Weight Watchers a small Hershey's Kiss can be the difference in being over your total of allotted points for that day.  Your goal is always to maximize what you eat within the meals you have.  You don't want to be too under or over.  You want to be spot on for the program to work.
Why not try that with your time?  Have you ever documented what you did as you did it?  Sure, we have calendars of our daily "plans" but what really happens in the day.  The key is to be totally honest with what you document.  You have to be honest with the "what" and the "how much time" that you spend on things each day.  Try it for one week.  Get a notebook and track what you spend your time in a day doing each day.  At the end of that week you might be sick to find the amount of time you "wasted" was on things totally unrelated to anything you really want to spend your time doing.
Many of us have goals and dreams.  What did we do today to get one step closer?  If the answer is "nothing" then evaluate your time and find time to make that change.  Any idea how much you can get done in the 2-3 hours a day we might just sit and watch TV?  Think about it.
The other thing to consider is how badly you want to accomplish something.  How many people seem to find the time to get more done in the day.  The good news for everyone reading this is that you can "find" time too. It's in those 24 you have.  I'm not saying don't sleep to accomplish it, I'm saying prioritize.  I could give you example after example after example of what you want to do versus what you actually do, but I think you get the point.
I'll finish with a personal example.  I was HUGE into fantasy football a few years back.  I played in as many leagues as I could find and even ran my own.  I spent every day and every week for months out of year looking and reading and learning all I could about players and who to play the following week.  Bedtime for me most nights was after midnight.  Guess what the result was.  I was AWESOME!  I usually finished in the top three teams no matter what and won over 6 championships in 4 years.  I wrote about it and lived and breathed it.  Guess what happens to a good relationship with your spouse after about two years of this.  I'll give you a hint...it's not good.  Once I came out of my pigskin haze to realize that there was something way more important to me than fantasy football and winning, I had a choice to make.  I chose my wife.  The following year I dropped it all.  I stopped my league and all others.  Everyone was stunned but I had a decision to make.  I evaluated the amount of time I had spent in this endeavor and when I came out of that evaluation period I literally got sick to my stomach that I allowed this to happen.  I had to re-prioritize what really mattered to me and spend my time there.  Guess how much quality time I can have to spend with my wife now.  Lots.  Guess how much I take.  Lots.
So, decide what you want and who you want to be and if what you are spending your time doing is not in line with that, you've got some decisions to make.
Good luck.  You'll be glad you took time to evaluate your time and then you'll have all the time you need.
Time is like money...spending it wisely makes all the difference in the world and in your life.
What would a blog about time be without a blast from the past in Cyndi Lauper's video "Time After Time"?