Time is Money. Here Are 4 Steps To Prioritize Your Time Better, And Skyrocket Personal Growth

We all have something we’d pursue more intensely if only we “had more time.”

I can think of a few for myself right now. And as much as I want to believe that there truly isn’t enough time, it’s often just a crutch.?

I’ve used the “I don’t have time” excuse plenty of times. Years ago, I was taking on draining trials, building a company, and writing a book, all the while trying to workout, eat healthy, socialize, travel. But there were other things I wanted to do, and projects I wanted to give more time that I convinced myself I didn’t have.?

The hardest thing about excuses is that we make them easy to?justify. Specifically when it comes to time and time management, we genuinely feel like we spread ourselves too thin to add more to our plates.

I promise you, you do have time —?you just need to work on prioritizing your time better.?

On average, we have 11 “free” hours every day.?Here’s the breakdown:

One week is 168 hours. On average, we sleep seven hours per night. We work eight hours per day on average, but only five days per week. Take the 168 hours in your week, minus the sum of your hours sleeping and working, and you’re left with 79 hours remaining — or just over 11 hours per day.?

Sure, there are other tasks that suck time, like cooking or doing laundry, for instance. But those are tasks where time can be used more efficiently. And even if you were to spend three hours per day cooking and cleaning, and two hours commuting or running errands, you’re still left with five, maybe six hours of free time.?

Again: Time isn’t the issue. It’s what you’re doing with your time that is stalling personal growth.?

Internalizing this helped me get to items on my checklist I had pushed off, helped me get back in shape, helped me fit in more personal time for deep thinking and reflection. Here’s what I learned, and how you can prioritize your time the right way, too:?

Step #1: Write out what a ‘normal’ day looks like.?

Take a pen, and a piece of paper, and write the time going vertically down the page, hour-by-hour. Start with the time you wake up, and end with the time you fall asleep (not the time you get into bed, but estimate around what time you actually doze off). If you have a planner or a journal with a time-block template, use that.?

Next, write out everything you do, hour by hour, and include how long each takes. If you wake up at 7:00am, but typically lay in bed for half an hour scrolling social media, write ‘scroll social media’ between 7:00 and 7:30 on your sheet.?

Write out when you shower, how long you shower for, when you leave for work, how long the commute takes. Write out everything in its appropriate time block until the time you fall asleep.?

Be as detailed as possible about what you were doing, at what time, and for how long.?

Step #2: Identify when you waste time.?

Highlight all the areas of time that you feel does not aid in your personal growth.?

If you scroll social media for the first 30 minutes of your morning, highlight it. If you commute to work and spend time in traffic complaining to your significant other over the phone, highlight it. If you binge-watch a mini-series for two hours before bed every night, highlight it. Take that 30 minutes in the morning, the hour in traffic, the two hours watching TV, and all the other time you identified as time-wasting, and add it together.?

Next, highlight areas of time you spend doing something passive, like showering, folding laundry, taking a walk. Think of additional things you can do during those times, so long as they aren’t distracting —?like listening to a podcast or an audiobook, for example.?

Take all of these instances where time is wasted, or not used efficiently, and add them together to understand how much “free time” you actually have in your day, right now.?

Step #3: Identify goals around personal growth.?

Hint: these are often the things you claim you “don’t have time for” —? things like reading, working out, working on your side hustle or passion project.?

List out as many things as you can think of in order of importance, and how much time you spend on each right now. Then, identify how much more time you want to commit to your goals each week. For instance, “I want to spend 30 minutes reading, 30 minutes exercising, and 1 hour per day on my passion project.”

Step #4: Turn wasted time into time well spent.?

Replace what you do during the highlighted time blocks on your day-to-day schedule with working toward the goals you’ve identified.?

Take the 30 minutes you spend in the morning scrolling social media with a 10 minute warmup and 20 minute workout. There’s plenty you can do at home, and more than enough resources on YouTube. Take the hour commute on the way home to set up networking calls instead of wasting the time in traffic. Cut your TV time in half, and spend an hour working on the passion project you keep pushing off. There’s no wrong way to go about it. Find something that works for you, and start small if you have to —?no matter what, you’re making progress toward something.?

You do have time to practice personal growth every day. Give yourself space to work through these four steps to make the most of your time. Hold yourself accountable, and be disciplined in your practice. And next time you want to say, “I just don’t have time,” question if that’s really the case.?