Time Is Money; How To Stop Using Time as an Excuse

How many times do you ever find yourself using the centuries-old saying "I just don't have the time" when trying to explain why you aren't doing something? I'll be the first to admit, I have used this several times over the course of my life however only recently have I educated myself on the reasoning and how to break out of the cycle. Time is a resource for all of us. No matter what you do for a career or what your home life/responsibilities are, our time is one of the most valuable assets we have. It is our duty, and ours alone, to divide that asset up as we see fit. We spend time with the friends/family when we want, attend the events we want as well as those we "have" to attend, and then give the bulk of our time to our careers and/or children before we ever take the time to relax for ourselves.

The key to all of this is the exact reasoning that I have learned recently and that is the concept that its not a lack of time we have, but rather we make time for things we deem as being important to us. Even when its something we might not "enjoy" doing, it is possible for that task to still be important enough that we see it fit to dedicate time towards it. For example, do we enjoy having to take time off from work to take a sick child to the doctors? NO, I do not enjoy that in the least, but I will always do it because the task is important to me. The same can be said for portions of my career in Pro A/V. In 2019 when I was studying to take the CTS, do you think I enjoyed using my weekends with a text book and study guides instead of being outside with my family? However, I determined that the CTS was important enough that it warranted the time and effort to study, take, and pass. The year 2023 has been no different, but what I notice more and more in my conversations is the frequency for which people will say "I don't have the time" or "I'm so swamped" or even "I always work so late". Do not take this as me saying those aren't viable reasons, because they can be, however I would like to present you with the 3 ways which I have been able to "add" time to my days while also keeping a clear mind for what's important:

#1-Avoid Insanity and Be Open To Change

We all know the definition of insanity at this point. You cannot continue on the same path while expecting some great change to happen. That would be "insane" right?! One of the biggest changes that I made to my own life was my schedule. I read recently that Mark Wahlberg wakes up at 2:30/3am every day. He uses the early morning quiet time for prayer, working out, and setting the stage for the busy day ahead. However, he also noted that he goes to bed earlier so he is still getting 7-8 hours of sleep each night. He adapted his schedule to achieve the goals he had in his mind and that is precisely why i enjoy going to bed early, waking up early, and generally being at my desk by 6am most days. Im a self-proclaimed early bird and i truly believe that i get the worm! However, don't worry, Ill never call someone that early, but I definitely knock out the bulk of my emails, reports, and call prep before my daughters even wake up. This allows me to spend my typical work day focusing on more valuable items such as phone calls, zoom meetings, customer visits etc. You have to be open and willing to change if you expect to see different results

#2-Reassign Priorities

I am a fantasy football junkie. I enjoy the competition, the successes i've had, and sharing these moments with my daughter who also loves to partake in it. One part of fantasy football is to constantly monitor the waiver wire. This is where you will find "free agents" and players that may have been dropped by other teams. It is always exciting to snag a player who you think could turn the tables for your season! In fantasy football, you can assign a priority number to each waiver move you are trying to make. If there is a big name player on waivers, i might assign him the top priority so i have a better chance of grabbing him while i might assign a kicker a lower priority. Our careers/personal lives aren't much different. In our heads, we assign priority numbers to our responsibilities and tasks and unfortunately, whatever comes in last, is usually what doesnt get done! Think about the CTS for example. Why AREN'T you taking it? Studying for it is a great first step, but what other priorities are occupying a higher number for you? Maybe its your kid's schedules, or your work travel, or even your social calendar. If you were to make the CTS (or anything else for that matter) a higher priority, I guarantee you it would get done. For those that say "I haven't taken it because i haven't had the time", you are really saying "I haven't taken it because it is not my top priority".

#3-Organization over Everything

I am here to tell you that I hate organizers. Those tiny books that you find at Staples, Target etc which are supposed to house your entire life. Calendars, business card holders, spots for pens, papers etc. Ive fallen into the trap before. I grab one at Staples because I assure myself "this will be a gamechanger for you Rob!" and it never is. I stay organized in many different ways. My outlook calendar contains everything including my daughter's volleyball schedule and the times i need to pick up my youngest daughter from her after school clubs. It also contains my bill payment schedule and other activities i have coming up. I choose to use outlook(and my trusty iphone) as my organizer in one sense of the word. I keep my business card contacts, files, etc in that phone and am constantly looking at it to make sure i dont miss anything. Outside of that, my organization stems from a combination of #1 and #2 above. Waking up earlier in the morning allows me the quiet time to review my tasks for the day while prioritizing those tasks helps me get them done orderly and organized. Even on my "worst" days where i feel as though my plate is overflowing and I will never get it all done, i will resort to delegating. Do not ever be ashamed of asking for help. I once attended a job interview when i was first starting to break into sales. The interviewer posed a question regarding how would i react if faced with a deadline and I simply could not meet it. I fought ferociously the point that I would always find a way to do the job because in my mind, asking for help was a sign of weakness. Yeah, I was extremely naive and "green" back in those days! Asking for help from your colleagues or superiors shows that you are willing to work as a team but also that you value the task enough that you are exhausting all options to complete it. Simply put, never feel as though you are "swamped" because i promise there is always a way out of that mindset.

I hope these 3 steps resonated with all of you enough that you may be able to identify or possibly even change some of the traps you may find yourselves in. I find that I am still reciting these and examining my day to day activities to ensure that I am staying the course. It is always a work in progress but whether it be your CTS, your personal life, or striving for that new career move there is light at the end of the tunnel and there is certainly ALWAYS THE TIME to achieve it!