Can’t Find The Time?

I often hear people complain about how they “can’t find the time”. Don’t get me wrong; I used to be one of those people who always complained about how I didn’t have enough time.

But now, when I quiz folk on how they use their time each day, I normally discover that they don’t actually have a problem finding time at all. They simply have a problem prioritising their time. I made this very mistake also (I make lots of mistakes, I don’t mind admitting it).

I don’t say it to brag, but I often start my day at 4am. So I am often putting in an 18-hour day. It’s beyond my physical capabilities to do this every single day. I wish I could, because there is always something I need (want) to do… always. But I start at this time to get a head start. If I don’t get up at this time, which does happen through being exhausted, I get disappointed and feel pushed for time. I often end my day around 9pm, or later if I can manage it.

Is this all work? No. I have a family that requires my time during the day also. But it is mainly all working.

I was taught some years ago that it is an entrepreneur’s duty to find time… no matter what. This made sense to me instantly. In order to take on the responsibility of steering a career, you must work outside the boundaries of conventional time. In other words, you have to find time to get what you really want. It was Donald Trump who once said something along the lines of: “You can build a business or you can make excuses, but you can’t do both”.

I have discovered that email is one of the biggest time wasting activities you can get yourself trapped in. I, like many, use to check my email constantly. If I was having a quick break from painting or talking on the phone… I’d check my email. But the worst part was that I found myself responding to these emails during my “real” working time – which of course is producing artwork.

Lucky for me, I soon realised I wasn’t the only one with this problem. When I got to talk with other artists and people operating a business via the Internet, I quickly discovered that many people suffered from “email addiction”.

So in order to battle this addiction, I had to find out why I was unconsciously checking my email so much. I discovered I had this need for contact with people. There is this element of wanting to feel significant. I likened it to a little kid eagerly running to the letterbox each hour of the day every day – enthusiastically waiting for his or Christmas card from grandma. The little boy or girl wants to feel significant. He or she wants proof that someone is thinking of them – is providing the attention they desire.

I discovered that my actions were purely motivated by this need to feel significant. Sure, I was often responding to genuine inquiries, or trying to help a fellow artist find their way with their creative endeavour.  But deep down my need to check my email constantly was very much like the child running to letterbox to receive their prize of attention.

This is also half the problem with social media sites like twitter and facebook. There is a lot of time being wasted assessing our popularity instead of getting the real work done. In fact there is a great quote made in a video by Seth Godin – he mentions how the Internet is just one big cocktail party (click here to watch the video).

Another thing I started the implement is keeping track of what I actually achieved each day. I am not completely disciplined with this activity, but I am doing better than I thought I would. By doing this; it allows me find out where I am wasting time and where I can potentially utilize time to my advantage. I only spend 15 minutes doing this most days of the week. It does actually help to get some perspective of how well or not so well I use my time.

Yep, keeping a “time management” journal is as boring as bat crap. But for someone like me who has a tendency to “drift”, it does help.

I have also discovered that we don’t actually suffer from time management.  It’s actually a personal management problem we suffer from. We can’t actually manage time. Time will continue to tick away. So knowing this made me realise that it was up to me to get a bit more (um… much more) focused on personal management.

This could mean things like outsourcing some of the busy work that really eats at your time (email, general administration type of work). Getting a lot more healthier in order to last throughout a working day without getting too tired. Starting your day earlier is another.

When I first decided to start at 4am, my wife laughed out loud. In fact I kind of laughed too. I was somewhat of a hibernating bear when it came to sleeping. So the idea of starting very early in the morning naturally generated a few giggles.

But here’s thing… when you truly begin to eliminate all the lies you tell yourself, and truly begin to focus on what it is that you want, you won’t struggle so much with finding time. You will simply find more time to do things that need to be done or you will find ways or people to help you to get those things done.

If you are operating with passion, time won’t be so hard to find… I can assure you of that.

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