Never Enough Time

Listen to our conversation on YouTube as we explore the common predicament all face when pursuing a hide hustle and some tips on how to overcome them.

What if I told you that each day you got $86,400 in your bank account. You wake up, check your account, and there it is. It comes with a caveat though. You have to spend it all in that day. You can’t save it. You can’t invest it. And any amount not spent vanishes. The next day you wake up, your account is replenished.

How would you spend it?

Time is a currency. Each day we have 86,400 seconds to spend on that day. Once the day is up, that currency is gone, but the next day brings another 86,400 seconds for us to spend.

We would never say that $86K a day is not enough to live off of; yet we’re quick to say that there isn’t enough time in the day.

Time is our most valuable resource. It’s what we have in abundance yet what we tend to squander the most.

If there’s never enough time, why then do we put things off like we always have more time?

This is the paradox we live our lives by. Each day is filled with stuff. Some stuff we love, other stuff we hate, and other stuff still just needs to get done. We burden ourselves each day with so much stuff to do that by the time we sit down and reflect on our day, we realize we haven’t done any of the things we want to do the most.

I didn’t get to practice the piano today.

I didn’t get to call my grandmother who hasn’t been well lately.

I didn’t get to draw / write / bake / study / etc.

Those activities that we long to do, the things which move us further on our creative journey, move us closer to our mountains, why do we always put them off?

Because we are always battling with what is urgent versus what is important.

We’re all familiar with the phrase “the squeaky wheel gets the grease.” We focus our attention on those things which are “noisy,” that which needs to get done now. Yet even as we do these things they don’t light us up, they don’t satisfy our creative itch. They’re chores.

Yes, chores need to get done, but if chores are all we do, then do we ever get live life? Do we ever get a chance to do what is important.

Which brings up the question, what is important?

I would contest that the most important things in life are those dreams we have. It is the journey we long to take. It could be the simple hobbies we have, whether we like to bake, play music, or hiking. Perhaps they’re lifelong dreams of starting a nonprofit, traveling the world, or turning your hobbies into a business.

Most of us would agree. We would like more time with our families, friends, hobbies, and personal endeavors. We value these things after all. But even as we fantasize about a time where we can work on a project, pursue a dream, or engage in a creative activity, we constantly tell ourselves there are more important things that need to get done.

That’s the fallacy we believe. We think what is urgent is important, that’s why we’re so quick to get the task done. Yet because our dreams are not urgent, we think they’re not important; or, at the least, we think they’re not important enough to do right now.

And so it is, we say there’s not enough time and push it off to tomorrow.

That’s the problem: what is important is rarely the squeaky wheel.

We have to reprioritize our time. I love my family, and I love spending time with my siblings and parents. However, there came a point where I had to make a call. If I’m serious about pursuing this dream, then I need to make the time for it; it means I have to say “no” sometimes.

Warren Buffet makes this statement when it comes to saying “no.”

“The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” -Warren Buffet

The point being, saying “yes” takes time. If time is valuable, why do we say yes to things that don’t fulfill us?

There’s never enough time, and that’s how it should be.

Chances are, there isn’t enough time in the world to do all the things you want to do; and that’s okay. In fact, it’s normal, expected, and as it should be.

Dreams are big. They’re like grand buffets filled with an assortment of dishes from all over the world. You couldn’t possibly eat everything in one sitting.

(If you can, you should look into being a competitive eater.)

When I pause to think about my buffet of dreams, my list usually looks something like this. I want to:

• Publish a video game
• Publish a tabletop game
• Write a children’s book
• Illustrate a children’s book
• Publish said children’s book
• Write and publish music
• Write for an animated series
• Make graphic tees
• Create graphic novels
• Teach kids, especially on life skills

That’s a lot to do. In fact, there is so much to do that there is absolutely no way I can get that all done in a single sitting. Even if I just chose one of those items, there is months if not years of work needed to accomplish a single goal.

And herein lies the solution:

There’s never enough time in a day, but there is enough time in a lifetime.

There is too much food in your buffet of dreams to eat in a single sitting. But the buffet isn’t going anywhere. You can come back to that buffet day after day and eat a little bit more.

But you cannot eat from the buffet unless you show up.

No. There isn’t enough time in a day to accomplish what you want to accomplish. Your dreams are too big for that. But they’re not too big if you show up today, tomorrow, and the days following to slowly work at it.

The secret is in showing up each day.

Any creative you look up, who is doing the work you long to do, they didn’t wake up one morning and become who they are today. In fact, I would challenge you to reach out to those creatives or find resources that tell their stories of how they’ve got to where they are.

If you do, you will find a consistent theme: they worked, they worked hard, and they worked hard every day.

Look at any creative project. Look at movies, animation, physical and digital games, businesses, and products – they aren’t built in an instant. They’re built one day at a time.

If an established Hollywood studio with seemingly infinite funds and a pool of dedicated talent can’t make movies in a single day, why then do we put so much pressure for us to complete our own projects in a day, a week, or a month?

Reaching your creative destination begins by showing up today.

Not tomorrow.

Not in a week from now.

Today.

Because today, you have those 86,400 seconds to utilize. Yesterday’s seconds are gone. And tomorrow’s seconds aren’t here to spend yet.

Use the time you’ve been given today to craft your way to your creative destination. Even if that means showing up for 30 minutes a day to do something small. In fact, I would encourage you to start there. Start small.

Much like working out, 30 minutes a day is much more approachable than an hour to an hour and a half, 3 days a week.

What it also does it prevents burnout and exhaustion because it allows you time to adjust and grow into the discipline of showing up and doing the work; and it’s that time which allows us to build positive habits.

Beyond this, even if you do only work for 30 minutes some days, most days you will find yourself working longer because you overcome the barrier of entry – getting started.

Getting started is the hardest part.

Like an artist looking at a blank canvas or a writer at a blank piece of paper, the void of what is possible is overwhelming.

Fortunately, there is a simple and quick solution to this.

I picked up this tip from Seanwes in his notes on how to improve the amount you write each day. He suggests the evening before writing down what you are going to write about the next day.

What this allows the mind to do is begin subconsciously working out the narrative for that piece. You practically begin to write it in your sleep.

The next day when you wake up, you no longer are stumbling over what you need to do, what you need to write. Instead, you show up and get started.

I can personally attest to this practice. This simple tactic of writing my goal the night before has significantly improved my ability to write in quantity.

Before, I would show up in the morning for an hour or two and write 300 words. After making this change, I easily hit 800 words and up.

Give yourself clarity by establishing what you’re going to do the night before.

But again, we’re talking about limited time here. How do we accomplish anything if we can’t even seem to get a few moments in the day to ourselves?

Do the important things first

There is only one way to guarantee that you get done what you set out to do, and that’s by doing it first.

You’re going to have a bad day at work, and when you get home, you’re not going to want to work.

A task will come in last minute that will require you to stay late at work, which means when you get home you’re not going to want to work.

The point being, life is messy. There are always things in our life that distract, discourage, or dissuade us from doing what matters most. If you’re serious, you need to prioritize your time, then protect your time.

This is why I do my creative work first thing in the day:

• I’m fresh in the morning, which means I have better focus and clarity to do the work that’s most important to me.
• When I do it first, I guarantee it gets done. The world is quiet in the morning, people are still sleeping, and no one is sending messages or emails. The world leaves me alone in the morning to work.
• Because I am fresh, and because the world is quiet, I get more quality work done; 
• Which because I am getting more done, I feel more fulfilled and happy in my life.

Now of course, I don’t know your schedule. I don’t know when you work best or when you get true alone time.

What I do know is that you are looking to go down this creative journey and that right now you may not feel like you’re making progress.

I’d challenge you to try something different, even for a month. Set aside some time first thing in the morning to work.

Yes, you’re probably going to need to wake up earlier.

Yes, it’s going to suck.

But when you see yourself making progress and start building momentum, you’ll want to keep going, and it is those small wins that are worth celebrating and being proud of.

No, there’s never enough time in a day to everything; but there’s always enough time to do something.

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