Got Not Enough Time?

Have you ever got tired of hearing yourself say, "I don't have time for..."? This image of us being "busy" all the time is rather overrated. Our society has largely conditioned us to think that being busy means that we are productive, we are getting things done, and we are valued for something. But that's far from the truth, for many. This is all, well, madness! If you feel any tinge of feeling losing out when someone flaunts their packed schedule to you, you are on the wrong track. That's just your ego acting out - "busy" is merely a superficial label unless you are making progress for yourself, and not others, doing whatever that you are doing. So, this implies that there is a good side of busyness too, best observed through its effects on us then spill over to people around us.

Let me share my story of not having enough time. I used to travel a lot for work and I either spent about three hours on the road everyday or I would lodged at a hotel for a day or three. Whenever I reminisce about those good ol' days, one common trend called 'fatigue' emerge, as much as they amounted to adventurous period of my life. Now I realize how much I have forgotten about myself and what I wanted, in those days. My fatigue friend stole my energy and I let it, time after time, years after years. My cup was empty and I had nothing more to give. Forget about self-care, creating art, reading a book, cooking fresh, emptying laundry, working out - I would just binge on TV in the evening with ordered take-outs and probably fell asleep countless times only to wake up to yet another cycle. Then, I would spend time on weekends to catch up on the chores around the house, dishes, spring cleaning, laundry because how I felt they were necessary for a comfortable home. On a bigger picture, I remember thinking, "Is this all there is?''... But, the question that I should be asking was, "What can I do about it?". Can you believe how this one mind shift took ages? That was one helluva unconscious program that I have been running on.

Later in my life, I have learned something new and fresh about this. It's so simple that you would cringe with "That's it?". Yet the magic is right there in its simplicity. We all need reminders like this from time to time. It's called "Start Saying No To...". Is this just prioritization, you ask? It isn't really. It is about focusing on doing only things that serve us (physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually) and dropping things that don't. We are so caught up with all that we need to do daily that we almost never make a list of things that we must say no to. When I understood that, I began saying no to waking up late, hours of Netflix, scrolling through social media, wallowing in self-pity, unproductive arguments (knowing when to just walk away), daily dishes and laundry (learn to cut myself some slacks), and (online) retail therapy. Although it is not always easy to tune them out cold-turkey way, the ability to identify them and take conscious effort to lessen the frequency of doing, works amazingly to win back time we claim we don't have. Look, everyone is blessed with the same 24 hours per day. If there is someone out there who can accomplish so much and live a fulfilling life at the same time - we all can do it too.

Knowing is helpful but execution is powerful - it gets us started and then continues to create momentum. It is easier to use "I have no time" and fall back into the pattern or familiarity. As difficult as it is to instigate the first step, yet that's what it takes to make a change that creates more time for things that bring you more fulfillment in life. As how Warren Buffett puts it, "The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything." So, what will you start saying no to?