Who has the time? No one apparently. Finding time to do everything we want to do is next to impossible. Between the necessary time-wasters in life to those moments where there’s nothing to do but kill time, it’s pretty tough to squeeze in everything you want to actually do in a single day.
How can we possibly find more time in the day?
Finding extra time is one of the major challenges we all struggle with. We sacrifice sleep for an extra hour or two of something. Make sure it’s something worthwhile. Sacrificing sleep is sacrificing a bit of your health. Not even catching up on Breaking Bad back in the day was worth it. Well, some episodes it was.
If every day has 24 hours in it and 8 of them are spent sleeping and another 8 are working, we’re left with only a third of the day left to do the things we want. Nearly half of it will probably involve doing things that we simply need to get done like cleaning or getting caught in an uncomfortably long conversation with a neighbor. Pro tip: always wear headphones and walk quickly when there aren’t any walls around to protect you.
With maybe 4 hours in the day to actually engage in activities by choice with some pleasure associated with it, we’re left with such a small percentage of each daily cycle to have fun and enjoy being alive. It’s sad, really. Why do we need sleep anyway?
If you’re a person like us with many different interests and hobbies, you’ll struggle with this forever, too. Is there anything we can do about it?
How you can attempt to overcome a lack of time each day
Priorities are important. If you’re left with 4 hours to do with as you please, make them count. Spend it with people you actually like being with. Relax a little bit or do something productive. Either one is fine. Just don’t get caught in that horrific zone of having free time and nothing to do with it.
There may be moments when you find yourself with an unexpected break from life. What do you do then? It’s not enough time to finish a project nor is it long enough to mentally prepare yourself for other tasks that you might have the time for but not the energy.
On a weekly basis, I plan by not planning. I’ve lived long enough to realize that as much as I would love to schedule my days to the minute, I can’t. Things will happen. People might need me. I don’t get a Bat Signal thrown up in the sky like Bruce Wayne. I could be counted on for something unexpected even if it’s just something as minor as bringing Jenny a towel to the bathroom she forgot.
Having a tier of priorities can be helpful. People I care about come first. Then it’s the practical things like my job or anything else that gives me money. In those 4 hours of free time I might find myself with at any point in the day, that’s where my priorities go. It’s the 4-hour block where I can actually decide what to do.
Still, even with the control of choice, it doesn’t last long enough.
How will I ever write all of the things I want to write while also writing the things I need to write? What’s more, when will I find the time to learn more about the things I want to write and the things I need to write?
It’s about priorities. I’m big on setting goals. I think priorities fall in the same class. You don’t set a goal that goes against your priorities. If my goal is to make sure my wife is happy, I’m not going to have “drinks with the boys” as a priority. Fortunately, I don’t have any boys to drink with so it’s easy.
Humans live a long time and it’s still never going to feel long enough when you have the desire to do things. Having your priorities set can at least help you achieve the things you want to do most.
And when you occasionally find that extra fifth hour, make the most of it.
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The book that convinced us to start investing and being more proactive with our money and lives: The Only Investment Guide You’ll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias
The gear we use to make our YouTube videos at the Practically Humans YouTube Channel
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