Take Back Your Time
I don’t know about you, but this year has been one of the fastest of my life. The weeks fly by, so much that I don’t even have time to think “I can’t wait for (insert exciting event here.)” I write the date and say, “I can’t believe it’s July already,” and it feels like I said the same thing about June just yesterday.
In such a fast paced world, it’s easy to get stuck going through the motions and just let life happen to us. And the faster the world spins, the more I have come to realize just how valuable time is.
As someone in a leadership role, there are constantly people vying for my time and attention. This has caused me to become very particular about what I say Yes to, and very assertive with my Nos. And over time, I have begun to incorporate small ways to prioritize and make the most of my time.
The first thing to realize is your time is your own. We all know some “people pleasers” out there, and I just can’t help but wonder how much time they waste doing things they don’t need to do because they are worried about disappointing someone. Don’t get me wrong, I am not of the mindset that “If it doesn’t serve you, you should say no.” I am in the business of serving other people. I believe there are plenty of times that we should do something simply because it’s the right thing to do. Helping other people matters and it’s always worth it, even if it doesn’t “serve you.” However, we have to set boundaries for ourselves when it comes to how much of our time we give to others.
Earlier this summer I texted my cousin and asked if he and his partner wanted to go to a local bowling alley that weekend. He responded with an honest, “Neither of us are really interested in that.” I sent back a sarcastic “Well okay then” meme, but the truth is I wasn’t offended at all because I appreciated his honesty about how he wanted to spend his time. We ended up having dinner together at a fantastic local Mexican restaurant instead, which we all thoroughly enjoyed.
Eliminating time wasters is a must. I often have marketers walk in unannounced to try and sell me a product. Persistent as they are, I have had to learn the art of a quick and polite “No” for the ones I’m not interested in. I’m a firm believer that no is a full sentence. If I’m confident I neither need or want your product, I am not going to waste your time or mine letting you demonstrate how it works. No disrespect to those out there trying to sell new products. However, I know what my company allows and what they do not and there is no point in entertaining something that I know we aren’t going to buy. I even get emails asking me to set up a Zoom call to discuss a new product or service. This would be at least a half hour wasted of my already busy day. I respond with a simple “no, thank you.”
I have also learned to save time by choosing my battles. I know people who will argue all day to prove they’re right. My father taught me a long time ago that most of the time the argument is not worth your time. And at the end of the day being “right” is relative. You will waste time and energy arguing, and at the end of the day the person you’re arguing with is going to remain in their conflicting position. When I was younger I would allow disagreements to get the best of me and before I knew it I had wasted my entire day being frustrated. I now have a general rule that if it won’t matter in three months, let it go and move on as quickly as possible. Sometimes a healthy debate is beneficial. But I don’t have time to argue about meaningless things, and I don’t have time to be angry.
Lastly, don’t forget that sometimes doing nothing is the most useful thing you can do. If we are not intentional about it, we can forget to enjoy our lives. Our days can easily become work, eat, sleep, repeat. Make the time to enjoy yourself. Skip the event this weekend that you feel obligated to attend but truly have no interest in, and instead do something you enjoy or simply rest. Be present in your moments. Take ten minutes a day to reflect, meditate, pray, or set intentions. Don’t forget to live your life. Every second wasted is a second lost.
I’ll leave you with a speech I have always loved from Ellen’s Here and Now special. It’s obviously meant to be comedy, and I’m not promoting procrastination. But it gets the point across. Time is our most valuable possession and it’s time some of us make the moves to take it back.
“Don’t wait.. procrastinate now! … We’re doing all these things to squeeze things together so we can save time. And I don’t know about you, but I don’t have any more time. I have less time. But let’s just say we could save up a whole chunk of time and set it aside. Do you know what we would do with it? Nothing. Nothing at all. Isn’t that the point, to be able to do nothing at all? But we’re not guaranteed that later on chunk of time. All we have is here and now. And that’s why procrastination feels so right.”
- Ellen Degeneres, Here and Now
“Enjoy yourself - it’s later than you think.”
