How do you find the time?

Happy Friday!

Let’s talk about time.

After this video went kinda viral on TikTok, I got a lot of messages that asked the same question:

“How do you find the time?”

Seems like no one liked my answer, but I’m going to give it to you anyway. ??

Time is not something you find.

Time is something that you make and give to yourself.

As long as you believe that someday you’re going to magically find more time, you’re most certainly not going to have the time to build your side hustle, work to get that promotion, or do anything else. I know because I spent years believing this too.?

Read on to find out how I gave myself the gift of more time.

The years I lost trying to find time

Early in my entrepreneurial journey, I thought time was something I needed to find, and I looked for it in some strange ways.

I remember reading that people like Oprah and Barack Obama get as little as 4–5 hours of sleep per night, so I started researching alternative sleep schedules. I spent weeks trying the Everyman sleep cycle, sleeping for only 3 hours a night and napping during the day. I was MISERABLE.

All the early 2010s business influencers said working 60–80 hours per week was the only way to get a business off the ground. So that’s what I did.

Making time: the action that changed my life

After a couple of years of entrepreneurship, I was burnt out. It felt like I had tried everything and I simply did not have the time to build my company, be a mama, and enjoy any kind of social life.

Here’s the one thing that finally worked: a time study.

My business coach had me log all of my time for a full week in a color-coded spreadsheet. For all 24 hours of every single day, how was I spending my time, down to the nitty-gritty little detail? Then, I compared my results to what I wanted my day to look like.

Beware: completing a time study is going to open your eyes to your own BS. Get ready! ??

Your 24-hour results might look like this:

Sleep: spending 7 hours/day, want 8 (+1 hr.)

Family: spending 4 hours/day (distracted), want 3 (focused) (-1 hr.)

Work: spending 9.5 hours/day (somewhat distracted), want 8 (focused) (-1.5 hr.)

TV: spending 1.5 hours/day, want <1 (-.5 hr.) Btw, I had to get rid of my TV for years to learn better habits. If you’re bingeing, you’re not alone.

Lost time: spending 2 hours/day on random things like scrolling social media, want .5 (-1.5 hr.)

In the example above, you should theoretically be able to give yourself 3.5 hours of time back for exercise or your side hustle or whatever you want to prioritize while getting more sleep. This is easier said than done.

Next, you have to outline the steps that will actually get you from where you are now to where you want to be. This might look like:

• Going to bed 30 minutes earlier
• Putting your Wi-Fi on a vacation timer so it turns off at 9 pm
• Locking your phone in your room during family time
• Scheduling breaks so you can remain focused while you’re working
• Getting out of bed right when your alarm goes off

These simple steps worked for me, and I bet they’ll help you make more time.?

An important note: don’t try to do them all at once. Pick one and put it into practice. Then tackle the next one. And so on.

In closing

The next time you find yourself thinking you’re “too busy” or “don’t have enough time,” remember this:

Time is a gift that only you can give to yourself.

How will you make time to get the life you want?